Diplomatic Tendencies
by Mako1
Summary: The Dax symbiont has known many interesting people over its very long lifetime. Among them, several characters of Enterprise and their descendants.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is the first part of a cross-over fic...kinda sorta, _Star Trek DS9_ and _Star Trek Enterprise._ The Dax symbiont has known many interesting people over its very long lifetime. Among them, several characters of Enterprise and their descendents.

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The _I.K.S Rotarran_ raced towards the scene of a battle raging between Starfleet and Jem'Hadar battle groups, along with several other Klingon birds of prey and Starfleet cruisers. General Martok leaned over Commander Worf's shoulder, watching the scanners spit out reams of data regarding the battle ahead. The Jem'Hadar were losing, but they were taking many casualties with them in their defeat.

"The Jem'Hadar have been defeated," Martok barked out, "alert the others that we're going in to assist our allies!"

"I can't even tell what ship that Galaxy class is...their energy signature isn't registering," Dax commented under her breath. "Their escape pods have been jettisoned but I'm still picking up bio signs on the bridge! Seven of them," she added suddenly.

"Get a transporter lock and bring them aboard. Jadzia, go down to medical and see if you can help them," Martok added. "Worf, you have the bridge."

Martok found he had difficulty keeping up with the Trill as she raced to sickbay. She rushed through the doors and took in the sight of the seven rescued Starfleet personnel before her. One was on a bio bed and badly injured, she didn't recognise the woman at first. When she did, she began to murmur 'no', over and over again.

Martok looked briefly from her to one of the rescued crewmen. "We couldn't detect your signature, what ship are you from?" he gently asked the shaken ensign.

"The _Mayweather_," Jadzia murmured. "This is her Captain, Nameela."

"Yes ma'am," the ensign replied after a moment.

Martok heard the heartbreak in Jadzia's voice and saw her hand flutter towards her abdomen over the symbiont that resided there. "Alexander...fetch your father," he murmured to the young man lending assistance in sickbay. Alexander Rozhenko glanced from his father's wife, to his general. With a nod he raced off to do as he'd been requested. Martok breathed deeply as he watched Jadzia with the _Mayweather_ captain. The medic had declared that the woman was beyond saving.

Captain Nameela opened her eyes and glanced up at the blurry figure hovering over her. She took several moments to recognise Jadzia and she smiled. "Hello old friend," Nameela greeted, smiling a bit more, her Denobulan features twisting inhumanly large.

"Hey," Jadzia smiled softly. "That was a lot of Dominion butt you kicked back there."

Nameela made a noise that could have been a laugh. "They kicked ours pretty hard too." The _Rotarran_ rocked from the shockwave of the _Mayweather_ exploding and Nameela sighed. "And there goes my baby."

"Are you in pain?" Jadzia asked, changing the subject.

"I'm surprised I'm still lucid with all the pain killer that's already been pumped into me," Nameela replied good naturedly. Glancing around, Nameela added, "The family ship?" Jadzia nodded softly. "Tell the General I thank him for his timely arrival."

"The honour was mine," Martok replied from the foot of her bed.

"My crew?"

"Being rescued as we speak," Martok replied. "We brought you and your bridge staff aboard here. The others in the escape pods are being picked up now."

"_Qapla' Balth je'_," Nameela murmured. "As far as I know, that is the closest you Klingons have to 'thank you very much', isn't it?" she teased.

"It is more than satisfactory," Martok replied with a slight bow of his head. "If you'll excuse me Captain," he added when he heard Worf enter.

Jadzia focused on Nameela and wasn't aware as Martok leaned close to Worf to explain to him what was going on. Worf nodded solemnly and the two men stood back and watched as the Trill and Denobulan continued to talk. "_Tlho'_ is actually a little closer," Jadzia corrected.

Nameela simply shrugged her brow. "I was aiming to impress," she replied. Jadzia laid a comforting hand on Nameela's shoulder as she was suddenly wracked by a coughing fit. Nameela recovered a bit and saw fresh tears spill from the Trill's eyes. "Look at it like this," Nameela murmured softly. "I can join the Andorians and Saven in keeping Tobin company."

Jadzia was shaking her head. "You're Denobulan; you still have at least another century and half."

Nameela merely shook her head. "I miss my 'tainted' Vulcan," she sighed. Jadzia watched as Nameela's eyes closed for the last time and her life left in a soft sigh. She sank to her knees next to Nameela's bed and silently wept. She'd known as soon as she heard the name Saven, that Nameela was done fighting. A low mournful howl began to echo around her as Martok and Worf lead the other Klingons in a salute to the Denobulan captain. Jadzia's lip quirked up as she thought of how amused Captain Nameela would be if she knew that Klingons considered her worthy of Sto-vo-Kor.

Hours later Jadzia sat with Worf and Martok in the general's quarters. She was cradling a cup of blood wine in her hands as she began to tell them how she had known the Denobulan. "Nameela was the science officer of the starship _Hokkaido_. They were on a mission of diplomacy to expand the Federation. Nameela was also second in command of one of the craziest crews Starfleet ever put together," Jadzia chuckled. "They came to Trill and that's how Tobin met her. Nameela has been a dear friend ever since…even if she and some of her crewmates terrorized poor Tobin at first."

tbc....


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: The Dax symbiont has met many different people over its very long life...among them several of the crew and their descendants of the _NX-01._

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Retired Admiral Jonathan Archer had been asked by the Federation to come up with a crew for an important diplomatic mission. The Federation was going to expand its contacts by sending an ambassador to other worlds and letting those worlds know of the Federation.

"So tell me Pink Skin," Ambassador Talla began affectionately, "why did you summon me to your office?"

Archer smiled softly at the Andorian woman before him. "Your father sent me a message," this caused the ambassador's antennae to twitch as she rolled her eyes. "He wanted me to assign you the best Starfleet has. And that's what you're getting. My best captain for the job."

Ambassador Talla was about to interject, when Archer's door chimed and he called for the person to enter. Talla looked at the newcomer and laughed. "Father is going to be in your debt for eternity at this rate, Pink Skin!" The daughter of Malcolm Reed and Hoshi Sato-Reed took a seat across the desk from Archer.

Newly promoted Captain Hiroko Sato folded her arms across her chest and shot Archer an accusing look. "At least it isn't David sitting there," she commented dryly, nodding to Talla. "How much ale do you think your father's out of?" she asked the Ambassador.

"A freighter load at least," Talla smirked.

"Your brother is the last ambassador I'd assign to this mission," Archer interrupted. "Especially not after the Vulcan incident!" Talla glanced between Archer and Sato, as the latter shrugged.

"They're calling it an incident now?" Captain Sato queried, her eyebrow rising eloquently.

"What did you and your dear brother do?" Talla chuckled as she leaned forward.

"They got Minister T'Pau drunk!" Archer exclaimed.

"It wasn't that hard," Sato shrugged. "Besides, we weren't deported. T'Pau loves us," her accent a softer version of her father's.

"Obviously she does," Talla laughed. "I heard that she had requested an extension of Ambassador Reed's tour."

Archer glared between the two women. "I'm beginning to think that assigning you to this mission was a mistake...both of you," he growled, attempting to sound annoyed and failing miserably.

"Between Hiroko's gift for using words and my Aenar inherited talent of telepathy, we'll be fine...and quite successful," Talla stated. She smirked suddenly, she couldn't help it. "Besides, I believe Lady T'Pol would agree with this combination of talents," Talla added, waving her thumb back and forth to indicate Hiroko and her. "It is only logical." Hiroko fought desperately to hide her laughter and failed. She roared right along with Talla as Archer shot the two women a look. Talla had referred to T'Pol by the title of 'Lady' ever since her rescue from Rigel in 2161.

"Do you have your staff in place, Captain," Archer asked after the two had calmed a little.

"All but my ship's doctor. I'm just waiting for him to arrive from a conference of the Inter Species Medical Exchange," Captain Sato stated.

"A civilian?"

Sato sighed. "Unfortunately none of the Starfleet doctors are quite ready to handle a multi species crew," she said. Turning her attention towards Talla she continued. "You'll be happy to know that there will be two other Andorians aboard. My tactical officer and one of her subordinates."

Thinking of Hiroko's father and his hand in rewriting Starfleet's training of tactical officers, Archer had to ask. "What does your dad think of her?"

"He suggested her," Sato replied. "I went to him and asked for his recommendation. I simply stated that I wanted a tactical officer who would see things my way," she purred.

"How long did that argument last?" Archer chuckled, knowing that Sato's style of command mirrored his own more liberal style.

"Ten minutes," she replied. Archer looked at her incredulously. "You honestly didn't think I'd ask Dad about tactical officers without back up, did you?"

"Hoshi helped?"

"Mum helped. And approved I might add."

"Who did you pick for tactical?" Talla asked.

"Lieutenant Commander Tarran," Sato replied.

"A fellow hybrid like me! Interesting," Talla said with a smile. "And her subordinate?"

"Ensign Jassyk, he was Tarran's first, second, and third choice for her security team."

"Jassyk comes from a very long line of Imperial Guardsmen," Talla murmured. "Good choice. That should keep Father quiet."

Archer watched and listened as the two women began discussing the crew compliment before politely excusing them.

"Oh that reminds me!" Talla said, clapping her hands suddenly. "Mother and Father are at the Andorian embassy for the launch. We're hosting a dinner tonight and I was told to bring you, by force if needed, Pink Skin."

"What time?" Archer smiled. It would be good to see his old ally Shran again.

"1900. I was also told to bring along my captain," Talla added. "Bring your parents along. I know mine will enjoy it immensely!"

"Good thing they just got back from Nagano then," Sato smiled. "I'll drag the old man along by his ankles if I have to," she laughed, accepting Talla's invitation on behalf of her family.

The two women rose from their seats and bid Archer farewell. Sato with a nod and 'admiral', Talla with a wink and 'pink skin'. He chuckled as he heard Talla asking why Sato used her mother's name and Sato explaining that she did so in honour of her mother. "Tacticians are remembered by history, linguists less so. I plan on changing that."

The two were a complete contrast of character. Talla Shran was lively, outgoing, and vivacious. Hiroko Sato was calm, reserved, and quiet. Talla did have her father's fight in her though and could be as ruthless as any Andorian. Hiroko may have been the silent type, but when she spoke, people tended to listen. Hiroko and her brother David had inherited their mother's gift for stringing words together in ways that could not be ignored. As children the two had met several times and had become the unlikeliest of friends. Together, Archer mused, the two would be a formidable team. Exactly why he'd chosen them for the mission.

Tbc...


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Reed + goatee in _Twilight_ = Dear God I need a cold shower! Also I have taken gleeful liberties with the episode _These are the Voyages..._ Talla was introduced in that episode after all, but that thing with Trip? Glitch in the holodeck program...that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

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Professor Hoshi Sato-Reed looked down at her husband and smiled. Her fingers were sunk into his silvering hair as she brushed her chin against his own bearded one. For his part, Commodore Malcolm Reed was quite content to rub his hands along the small of his wife's back as the two basked in each other's presence. He swore when an alert let them know that a call was coming through on their private line. Hoshi rolled off Malcolm and quickly slipped a robe on as she went to answer it.

"Hee-chan!" She exclaimed joyously as her daughter's face clicked into view.

"Hullo Mum," Hiroko replied. "I'm not interrupting anything am I?"

"No of course not," Hoshi lied.

"Yes she bloody is..." Hiroko heard her father growl in the background. "Hullo Sweetheart," he greeted as he sat beside Hoshi in front of the monitor.

Hiroko smirked at her father's image. "I thought a trip to the Sato family onsen in Nagano always mellowed you out?" she teased. Malcolm narrowed his eyes at his daughter while Hoshi howled in laughter. His daughter may have taken after him in many ways, but she had her mother's knack for teasing. "Anyway, the reason I called," Hiroko continued. "We've been invited to dinner at the Andorian Embassy tonight. 1900 hours."

"We'll be there," Hoshi replied and cast a glance at Malcolm. He simply rolled his eyes before nodding his consent as well.

"I'll see you both tonight then," Hiroko smiled warmly at her parents. "I'll tell you about my new assignment too...you'll love this one."

"Oh?" Hoshi said quizzically. "We'll hear about it tonight then. Love you."

"See you tonight Sweetheart." Malcolm added as Hiroko bid them farewell and the screen went dark. "Now where were we?" he asked his wife seductively.

"I believe we were having, as you put it in that wonderful vernacular of yours, one hell of a snog and shag." Hoshi purred as Malcolm took her hand and lead her back to bed.

Lieutenant Commander Tarran adjusted her formal attire as she entered the embassy. She had gratefully accepted when the ambassador had extended an invitation to dinner. It would give Tarran a chance to see if the ambassador knew anything about the new captain she'd be serving. The usher escorted her to the formal dining area and introduced her. Tarran nodded to him in thanks before turning to her hosts. "General Shran, Lady Jhamel, Lady Talla, I am honoured by your invitation," she greeted with a deep bow of her head.

"It was our pleasure," Thy'lek Shran replied as he stepped forward to greet Tarran.

"Indeed," Talla echoed her father.

"Please join us for refreshments as we await the rest of our guests," Jhamel offered.

Tarran felt a familiar flutter in her hybrid mind and allowed Jhamel to connect with her telepathically as a show of good faith. Shran watched as his wife smiled softly after a moment and grinned. His Talla would be safe with this tactical officer. Tarran vowed to Jhamel that she would protect Talla with her life, and extended that vow to the ambassador.

"I hope it never has to come to that," Jhamel said softly. She cocked her head ever so slightly suddenly. "You're troubled, why?"

"Not so much as troubled, M'lady. More curious than anything else, about this new captain I've been assigned to." Tarran replied.

Shran grinned. "I was very pleased to hear that Captain Sato had been assigned command of this mission," he stated proudly. "Her family and mine have an interesting shared history."

To Tarran that was the highest praise anyone could offer her new commanding officer. If the legendary general of the Imperial Guard approved of this Sato, than Tarran would as well. She was about to say as much when the usher announced the newest arrivals. "Commodore Malcolm Reed, his wife Professor Hoshi Sato-Reed, and their daughter Captain Hiroko Sato." Seeing Captain Sato standing beside her parents confirmed for her General Shran's trust in the woman. Tarran began to relax immediately and looked forward to the mission.

The group mingled over drinks as the usher entered one last time to announce the last of the dinner guests. "Vulcan Ambassador T'Pol, her bond mate Admiral Charles Tucker, and Retired Admiral Jonathan Archer." Shran grinned broadly as he walked towards Archer.

"You're planning on keeping in me in your debt forever Pink Skin," he said as he extended his hand forward.

"It appears that Shran is onto you, Jonathan," T'Pol stated. Tucker snorted a laugh before turning his attention to the others gathered. All decorum flew out the window as he greeted them.

"Malcolm, Hoshi, Baby Girl!" he grinned broadly as he went over to shake hands with Malcolm and hug Hoshi and Hiroko. "I hear congratulations are in order, Captain Sato!" Malcolm smiled in pride as his friend picked Hiroko up and hugged her tightly for a moment.

"And yet you insisted you two weren't drinking this afternoon," T'Pol gently teased Archer. Her attention then changed to the Andorian Ambassador who was coming over. "Ambassador Talla, my thanks for this invitation this evening," she added.

"A pleasure as always Lady T'Pol," Talla grinned. T'Pol raised an eyebrow at the term of endearment Talla had had for her since she was a child.

Tarran did what any good tactical officer would and sat back and observed as the evening progressed. She caught the commodore doing the same and nodded towards him in acknowledgement. Malcolm gave her a small half smile as he returned to the conversation he was having with Jhamel. Tarran learned that her new captain had an older brother, David, who was currently assigned as Earth's ambassador to Vulcan. She gaped in astonishment when she heard the story of the captain and ambassador getting a Vulcan minister intoxicated, as others around her laughed.

Captain Sato excused herself towards midnight, stating that she had a star ship to get ready in the morning. She leaned in to giver mother a kiss on the cheek and gave her father a gentle hug before taking her leave. Tarran was spending the night at the embassy and retired shortly after, along with Talla. The two women would be assisting Sato the following day. The others remained in the dining hall long into the evening, recounting the old days with good cheer.

Ensign Ian Anu stood lazily next to the shuttle pod awaiting his passengers. His sun bleached hair and pale eyes were a stark contrast to his dark bronze skin. He stood to parade rest when he saw an official looking transport pull up and watched as two pale blue Andorian women exited the transport and headed towards him. "Ladies," he greeted warmly. Ensign Anu stepped aside and helped the two women into the shuttle pod. "We'll leave as soon as the Captain and Commander arrive," he informed them. Hearing his thick accent, Tarran asked if he was English, like Commodore Reed. "Not bloody likely Ma'am! I'm part Welsh and part Indigenous Australian," he corrected.

The two shrugged and made a comment to look the information up later. Meanwhile Ensign Anu watched as a second transport arrived. He spied an elegant woman of Asian descent and a blonde haired Denobulan. Captain Sato and her second in command, Commander Nameela, he presumed. "Ma'ams, Ambassador Talla and Lieutenant Commander Tarran are already aboard," he greeted with a salute.

Sato blinked at the ensign's thick drawl. "Where in the Outback did they find you?" she asked.

"Born and raised on a cattle station outside of Karratha, Captain."

Commander Nameela thought for a moment as she tried to recall her Earth geography. "That's on the other side of the country from Sydney, correct?" she asked.

"About as far from Sydney as you can get, Ma'am," Ian grinned. Nameela returned the grin with one of her own and Ian nodded approvingly. "That's one hell of a smile, Ma'am," he commented as he helped the two into the shuttle pod.

Taking the helm he turned back to the woman and smirked. "Right-o, shall we?" Captain Sato nodded and Ian requested clearance to leave the port. Sato wondered how he would get along with her engineer and communications officers, as both men were from South Africa, a well known sports rival to Ensign Anu's native Australia.

Lieutenant Lwazi Silongo and Ensign Karal De Vaal were discussing engineering aboard the _SS Hokkaido_ as they made their way to the shuttle bay to greet the rest of the senior staff. Silongo was Zulu and had grown up in a tiny village in KwaZulu-Natal. Ensign De Vaal was a surfer boy from Durban. Silongo was pleased that Zulu was one of several languages the comms officer spoke, and they were chatting away in it. "Listen to this?" De Vaal said as he took his station at the comms post in the launch bay. "The pilot is an Aussie."

"This'll be fun," Silongo smirked as he listened to the slow drawl of Ensign Anu. "Wonder if he likes cricket?"

"Or rugby?" De Vaal offered.

"If worse comes to worse, I have a couple of assegais and iklwa as part of my cabin decorations," Silongo replied. De Vaal laughed as he continued to listen in on the shuttle's approach.

On the shuttle pod, Ensign Anu watched with his passengers in horror as a transport vessel suddenly careened into one of the space docks and sent debris flying. "Oh bloody hell!" he swore as an emergency broadcast came over the comm, to alert him to the danger. "Right, hold onto your teeth ladies!" The four women grabbed hold of anything they could for support as Anu steered the shuttle hard to starboard to avoid colliding with an enormous armature heading their way.

"What the hell is going on aboard that transport?" Silongo demanded as he watched the impending disaster unfold.

"Volatile chemicals on board sir," De Vaal replied. "One of the containers suddenly burst and caused an explosion in their aft cargo hold!"

"And again!" Anu exclaimed on the shuttle pod. This time he jerked the shuttle hard to port. Sato glanced at the pilot and was relieved to see his calm despite the situation. "Sorry for the crazy ride ladies, but we're clear now and right as rain!" Anu announced as they came upon the dock containing the _SS Hokkaido_. "This is shuttle pod Andoria 1," Anu said over the comm. "Requesting permission to dock."

"Andoria 1, permission granted," De Vaal replied. "Bloody hell that was some impressive flying."

"Nah no worries, mate!" Anu grinned.

"Tell me you don't have any intentions of piloting my ship like that, Ensign?" Sato asked as they docked.

"Nah, only if the bad guys are trying to take pot shots at us, Ma'am." Anu replied. He rose from his seat and opened the shuttle pod hatch for the women.

Talla disembarked first, followed by Sato, Nameela, and Tarran. Ensign Anu disembarked last and stood at parade rest behind the women as Sato introduced some of her officers. "Lieutenant Lwazi Silongo engineering and Ensign Karal De Vaal communications, I believe you already know Ambassador Talla and Lieutenant Commander Tarran. This is science officer Commander Nameela and helmsman Ensign Ian Anu."

Silongo nodded and informed Sato that their doctor would be arriving shortly. "The Vulcan ship _Sh'tal_ should be arriving in an hour Captain."

With the formalities out of the way, the group headed for the bridge to await the _Sh'tal_ and monitor the situation with the wayward transport. Talla sprawled luxuriously in the seat next to the captain's chair, as the others took their posts. Anu announced that the _Sh'tal_ was ahead of schedule and would be sending their new ship's doctor over momentarily. Sato had to bite her lip at the way Anu had pronounced the Vulcan name. To her and several others it sounded as if he'd said 'shit all'.

"Nameela, Tarran? With me please. Silongo you have the bridge."

Sato, Nameela, and Tarran headed for the airlock the Vulcan shuttle would be docking at and awaited their newest arrival. Nameela's face broke into an enormous Denobulan smile when she saw their new doctor. "Doctor Saven reporting as requested Captain," Saven greeted with a gentle nod. Sato thought she was seeing things for a moment, but realised that yes, her new doctor was indeed smiling, if only slightly.

Saven returned to the bridge with the trio after formal introductions were made. Sato and Tarran both noted the obvious familiarity between Saven and Nameela as they were introduced. "We're on standby at the moment, Doctor," Sato informed Saven as she gestured the main screen showing the wreckage outside.

"Yes. We saw the collision as we entered the system, Captain. Captain Satak asked me to ask if they need any assistance," Saven replied.

Sato nodded and turned to her comms officer. "De Vaal, inform the _Sh'tal_ that we thank them for their offer, but that we're on standby at the moment."

"Aye Captain," De Vaal replied as he relayed the message.

"Other than impending disaster, what do you think so far Doctor?" Sato asked Saven.

"I'm rather impressed...though I do question your logic in the appointing of the Denobulan, Captain." Saven said warmly.

"I've missed you too dear friend," Nameela replied with a smirk.

"A Vulcan with a sense of humour?" Talla asked Sato. Sato for her part shrugged.

"I suppose an explanation would be in order," Saven said. "My mother is part of the I.S.M.E. and was assigned to Denobula. Where I was born and raised."

"My mother worked with his," Nameela said, "and Saven and I grew up together."

"I'm not like the majority of my people I'm afraid," Saven commented dryly.

"I affectionately refer to him as my tainted Vulcan," Nameela purred. "We Denobulans tainted him well!"

That explains that, Sato thought as she put a hand over her mouth to hide her amusement, while Talla, Anu, and Silongo chuckled openly. Tarran just shook her while De Vaal found himself biting his lip, as Saven and Nameela shared a knowing look with each other.

Tbc...


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: The Dax symbiont has met many different people over its very long life...among them several of the crew and their descendants of the _NX-01._ For anyone who reads this and wonders 'wtf?' the Trill were first introduced in a ST: TNG episode, _The Host_...they looked far different from the Trill seen on DS9.

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The transport collision hadn't been as bad as initially thought and was quickly cleaned up. The day of the launch of the _SS Hokkaido_ came and Talla and Sato found themselves playing hostess to numerous guests and dignitaries. Sato would later joke that Talla's antennae were practically twitching with excitement when a group of Zulu elders had presented the two women with ceremonial assegais. The elders had been invited on behalf of Lt Silongo and had sung a traditional song to the senior staff as they were leaving. Silongo explained that the song was to wish them well and that the elders found them to be honourable adversaries, a compliment of the highest order in their culture. The five non-human members of the crew found the song mesmerising and moving, as did several of the human crew not familiar with the Zulu culture.

While Silongo's elders had made a grand showing, Anu's were more reserved as they were shown around the ship and introduced to the crew. Ensign Anu was apparently the first of his people to leave the ground, they stated. He would bring the wisdom of the Aboriginal and Torres Straights peoples to the stars, an elder claimed. Saven would remark later that their gift to him would be one of the most treasured items he would ever own. Anu's great uncle, a bush medicine man, presented Saven with a woven bag containing samples of traditional herbs and plants that had been used by the Yamatji people for eons. Anu was given two woomeras to present to Talla and Sato later, along with an explanation of what they were and how they were used. Anu promised the two women, with a wink, to teach them how to throw spears with them.

The final group to be shown around the ship was a group of Andorian and Starfleet guests. Shran had taken particular delight along with Malcolm Reed as Tarran had given them a personal tour of her area of expertise. Archer spied two chairs on the bridge where the captain would be stationed and gave them a quizzical look. "You honestly don't expect me to stand all day, do you?" Talla had teased and he nodded in understanding.

Silongo was beginning to worry if he would have to wipe drool off his engines, the way Admiral Tucker was going over them. Malcolm and Hiroko both rolled their eyes as Hoshi brought out her faithful UT and managed to get Anu to speak in his native Yamatji so she herself could master the language later. Ensign Anu asked his captain if she had the language gift and was a bit disappointed that she didn't. "I can speak eloquently like Mum, but I don't have her knack for picking up languages almost instantaneously." Anu looked crest fallen for a moment until Sato assured him that her older brother could. "I'll introduce you to David sometime," she said with a smirk.

Saven looked up when T'Pol entered his domain and greeted her with a bow of his head. T'Pol had read up on him and said so as she looked around the sickbay. "I almost miss the sounds of things living in cages," she calmly stated and Saven smiled.

"I may have been born and raised on Denobula," Saven started, "and while I do appreciate their holistic approach to the healing arts, I find the technological approach easier...and a lot quieter, with less mess to clean up." T'Pol graced him with a quirk of her lips, which he returned.

The guests and dignitaries finally left and with a last show of fanfare from Starfleet, the _SS Hokkaido_ was finally underway. Talla was reclined in her chair as Sato had Anu pull away from space dock and head out of the system. Talla had already decided that she wanted to try for the home world of a species that space traders had recently come into contact with. "There are apparently three sentient species on Trill," Nameela stated excitedly. "Two humanoid and a...slug like creature," she added after a pause.

"How do you communicate with the slugs?" Talla asked.

"Apparently through one of the humanoids that a slug may reside in," Nameela replied looking at her data. She looked up and saw a room full of confused faces. "The Trill are a joined species. The slugs live inside the abdomens of the humanoids." Nameela looked up when she heard the turbo lift doors open and sighed. "Saven, help!"

Saven looked over her shoulder and raised both eyebrows. "Ah yes! I've heard about these Trills. The humanoids consist of two groups, a minority group that is distinguished by brow ridges, and the majority group easily identified by a pattern of spots that run along the sides of the body. The third sentient is described as a symbiont, a small soft bodied creature that resides symbiotically inside one of the humanoids. The symbionts are far longer lived than the humanoids. They retain the memories of all their hosts and those memories and personalities are integrated with each new host," he explained.

"What I said," Nameela offered. "Only he said it in more detail and far more eloquently," she added sheepishly.

"So all the humanoids have one of these slug-like things inside?" Sato asked.

"They're called symbionts," Saven corrected, "and no. There are more humanoids than symbionts. Most Trill humanoids are not joined with a symbiont."

"They sound interesting," Sato said and turned to look back at Talla.

Talla had an enthusiastic grin on her face. "They sound like fun. I can't wait to meet them!"

Sato turned back to Nameela and asked how long it would take to reach Trill. "At warp 6, about a month," Nameela replied.

"Anu lay in a course to Trill," Sato ordered with a shrug.

"Aye Captain."

Talla folded her arms across her chest and smirked. "So...any ideas of what to do for the next month?" she was met by various looks of bafflement and curiosity.

Lieutenant Commander Tarran was in one of the cargo bays assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the senior staff when it came to their weaponry skills. Tarran was pleased to see that her captain had lived up to her reputation as a fine marksman. She also suspected that the captain's father may have had a hand in Sato's proficiency with weapons. That was no surprise, nor was Ambassador Talla's skill-set. Tarran was delighted to learn that as part of her ceremonial garb, Talla would be wearing a cloak. Perfect for concealing weapons. The cloak's closure would also be of use in the event of a contact gone wrong. An ushaan-tor would hold the cloak closed at Talla's shoulder and could be used as a weapon if the Ambassador needed.

After a heated debate, Tarran had finally conceded defeat to Doctor Saven, who refused point blank to even hold a weapon. He stated very matter of fact, that his proficiency in the Vulcan martial art of Susmana was all the offence he would permit himself. He was a healer, not a destroyer, he'd stated, effectively ending the argument. Commander Nameela was hopeless as far as Tarran was concerned. Her hand to hand skills were admirable, but her accuracy with a phaser left a lot to be desired. Tarran had told Nameela to adjust her angle more carefully and the Denobulan paused.

"Angle?" Nameela asked, glancing at the Andorian. "Hmm...Try again?" Tarran ran the target simulation again and Nameela improved greatly. "Just had to think in geometric equations was all," the Denobulan said, smiling broadly. Tarran raised a hand to the spot between her eyebrows and rubbed it as she muttered something about scientists under her breath.

The 'Tribal Trio' as people were beginning to call them, proved to be just as good as Tarran herself. Ensign De Vaal explained that he had gone on many expeditions with his father as a child and learned to shot moving targets at an early age. "My father was a veterinarian and Africa's wildlife tends to need tranquilisers," he laughed. "Lots of them," he added as he scored another hit.

Lieutenant Silongo's experiences with Africa's wildlife also explained his proficiency and accuracy. "A bull elephant in must is not a pretty sight...especially when it charges," he'd stated calmly.

"Ninety five percent of Australia's flora and fauna can either kill ya, or really screw up your day," Ensign Anu had stated as he missed only two shots out of thirty. Tarran was beginning to wonder how these three had survived growing up in such hostile conditions judging by the way they spoke of their homelands.

"I'm surprised the snake and spider populations haven't taken out the human one," Silongo had teased.

"Says the bloke who had to keep an eye out for man eating pussy cats," Anu shot right back with a grin.

"Aren't cats about this big?" Tarran asked, indicating with her hands the approximate size of a common house cat.

"Not the ones Ian is referring to," De Vaal laughed.

"Lions, leopards and cheetahs, oh my!" Anu laughed.

"Cheetahs not so much, but lions and leopards, definitely," Silongo added. At Tarran's confused look, De Vaal promised to give her a brief biology lesson on the indigenous cats of his native South Africa.

Tarran managed to get the three focused on target practice again and after an hour she dismissed them, impressed with their continually high scores. She'd also noticed that Jassyk had taken an interest in the way the trio interacted and would occasionally add to their banter with anecdotes from Andoria. She'd worried about her subordinate and his shyness around the humans. He seemed relaxed when he was with just her and Talla, but around the rest of the crew he became quiet and reserved. Tarran also noticed that the Tribal Trio didn't seem to mind and felt that they'd adopt the Andorian youth into their midst. Something she joked about later that evening with Talla and Sato.

"If he takes up a sudden interest in surfing, cricket, and rugby, it's safe to assume that they have corrupted, err adopted him as one of their own," Sato had laughed. She saw the two Andorians exchange puzzled looks and with a sigh, explained the three sports to them.

"I don't understand though Tarran, if the boy is shy..."

Tarran cut Talla off with her reply. "He is young, the youngest Starfleet will allow entrance for, and he's never seen non-Andorians until he joined Starfleet. However, when he's working he's a machine. He makes the most stoic Vulcan look like an emotional wreck."

"That I'd like to see," Sato murmured.

"Actually Captain...I did want a chance to do some field testing," Tarran began. "There is an uninhabited M-class planet two days away on our present heading. I was wondering if we could make a day of it and run some security simulations."

"I personally love the idea," Talla said. "Hiroko?"

"I take it you have these simulations planned out already?" Sato asked Tarran. Tarran replied with a nod and small smile that reminded Sato of her father. "Well...it's not like the Trill are actually awaiting our arrival...I don't see why not."

Tarran sent the next two days drilling her security teams and setting up several exercises. She set up a secondary exercise to use against the teams that would be playing hostiles in the simulations that involved her replacing Talla as the target. Tarran looked very similar to Talla and the two had discussed at length of using Tarran as a decoy in situations where any new contacts appeared none too friendly. The exercises had proven to be a much needed distraction on the voyage and as Tarran had claimed, Jassyk was almost machine like in the drills. The exercise where Tarran posed as Talla was more successful than Tarran had originally imagined.

Jassyk had suggested to Tarran to test some claims he'd heard Silongo and Anu make a few days prior. Tarran saw it as a chance to test the tracking skills of her security team, who would try and track down the Lieutenant and Ensign without the aid of scanners. She figured it would be an easy exercise. She was wrong. Silongo and Anu had boasted that if given a chance, they could blend into their surroundings and vanish. Tarran had even resorted to using Saven's heightened sense of smell to track the two down to no avail.

Sato and Talla were watching the exercise with the aid of a scanner and were shocked to see Silongo and Anu not only virtually disappearing, but tracking their trackers as well. When Tarran saw the read outs and saw that they were never more than fifteen metres away from her at all times, she was stunned. Tarran had heard De Vaal laughing and decided that he could attempt to track the two down. She narrowed her eyes when saw him find Silongo first, then Anu. De Vaal explained to her that he'd learned to track another from several of the Zulu guides his father had worked with.

Tarran decided to learn the skill as well and spent the rest of the day with the Tribal Trio playing hide and seek. Jassyk had joined in after a while and soon he was mastering the tracking skills that the trio were teaching. Evening settled in and the senior staff was seated around their camp site going over the day. As Sato and the two Andorian women had predicted, the Tribal Trio had taken Jassyk under their collective wing and made the youth one of their own.

Saven was seated cross legged on the ground meditating, with Nameela seated in a camp chair nearby. Tarran, Sato, and Talla were watching the four around the camp fire and musing. Jassyk had brought his Andorian pipes with him and Anu had a guitar. Andorian pipes reminded Hiroko of pan's pipes in both design and sound. The two were playing along to the songs Silongo and De Vaal were singing.

"The name 'Tribal Trio' doesn't fit anymore," Talla teased as she looked on.

"Yes it does," Sato countered. "The novel; The Three Musketeers, is about four musketeers."

"Hiroko, what are you going on about? That doesn't make any sense," Talla countered.

"I'll show you when we get back to the ship," Sato promised.

"Any idea what they're singing about?" Saven asked suddenly. He had stopped meditating and was now leaning against Nameela's legs as the two watched and listened to the impromptu concert. Nameela had described their relationship as 'friends with benefits', and it showed in the easy affection the two were sharing now.

Hiroko glanced at an old UT her mother had given her and read the translation. "According to this, it's the oral history of the Zulus," she explained. "The current song is about 'the head of the buffalo', a battle tactic a great Zulu king had devised."

Tarran had been leaning back with her eyes closed and listening. She cracked an eye open and glanced at Sato. "Battle tactic?" Sato described the tactic and Tarran was impressed. "I used to think less technological cultures were not of any importance...I'm beginning to see I was wrong," she admitted. "Anything else this king cooked up that could be of interest?"

"You'll have to ask Lwazi and Karal to regale you with the tales of Chaka. I'm sure they'll gladly fill you in," Sato replied. Tarran decided to do just that once they had returned to the ship and were underway again.

Tbc...


	5. Chapter 5

Tarran had had no problem finding people to keep watch that night. Saven said he wasn't tired and Nameela was Denobulan and didn't need to sleep. Jassyk was so charged up it was if he had fire in his blood, and as an Andorian he could go without sleep for a few days and be just fine. Silongo and Anu, finding themselves in an environment similar to what they grew up in, were also more than willing to keep watch. De Vaal had dismissed the notion and said that the two were more than welcome to stay up all night, but he did sit up with Jassyk and Anu for quite some time before finally going to sleep. Sato and Talla were secretly grateful that they didn't have pull watch duty and laughed about it in their tent as they settled in for the night. The two had been overly busy for a while and could use the rest. Anu woke Silongo for a change of guard several hours before dawn and then retired next to De Vaal.

An hour after sunrise, Sato stumbled out of her tent and stretched. Looking around she spied Silongo, shirtless and crouched atop one of the shuttle pods surveying the surrounding area. "You're out of uniform Lieutenant," she teased.

"Good morning Captain," Silongo replied. "It didn't feel right being all bundled up in cloth..."

"He said he was in his element. Good morning Captain," Saven greeted from behind her. "Nameela and I have breakfast almost ready."

"Morning Doctor," Sato said, taking a cup of coffee from him. "You are a god send," she purred taking her first sip.

"Actually I'm a council send, but close enough," he countered with a small smile. Sato glared at him over the rim of her mug for a moment. It was too early in the morning for comedians.

"You better have an extra strong one of these for Talla," she said. Saven assured her that Nameela was working on that as they spoke. Sato nodded and turned back to the tent, time to wake up one very surly in the morning ambassador. After a few choice words in Andorian, Talla was finally brought to life with the promise of strong coffee. Nameela handed it to her as she exited her tent.

"I'll reconsider your execution human," Talla muttered to Sato as she downed the first cup of coffee. Sato howled in laughter as Talla fetched a second.

Tarran just shook her head as she watched them banter back and forth. Tarran had taken it upon herself to wake the others. She had to inform De Vaal that the nearest surf spot to their current location was two hundred kilometres to the south, when he had asked about the wave conditions in his sleep. Anu was a little easier to wake, but she couldn't find Jassyk anywhere. She finally looked up and spied him sitting very still atop the second shuttle pod. "You took your stealth lessons to heart, didn't you?" she said when he acknowledged her presence.

"It's been an interesting night," he replied, telling her that the newness of everything had awed him.

"So I see," she smirked, crossing her arms across her chest. "Your antennae are twitching." Jassyk turned purple as he blushed and Tarran laughed.

Later, they were stowing the last of the camping gear. Silongo was still atop one of the shuttle pods on look out when he called down to Nameela. "Commander? Come up here, you'll want to see this." He reached a hand down to help her up, never taking his eyes off of what he had seen. "Over near that tree," he whispered.

Nameela took a few moments to see what Silongo had spotted, but when she did, she was awed. She looked at the scanner in her hand and reconsidered. "Fascinating...Saven, hand me your medical scanner please." Saven said he'd have to fetch it, as he was retrieving it a small guest appeared in their camp site.

"Ian don't move!" Sato instructed. Anu had been leaning with his arms folded across his chest against the pod Silongo and Nameela were on and froze instantly. He could see the faces of his crew mates and they didn't look concerned. They did look surprised though; De Vaal looked to be in sheer awe as he sank almost reverently into a crouch. Anu felt tiny hands just below his knee and felt as the creature began climbing up his body.

Atop the shuttle Nameela was torn. She wanted to scan what Silongo had spotted, as well as what was climbing up Anu. Saven told her that he'd take care of the scans involving Anu's guest and she could concentrate on her original scans. She thanked him profusely as she returned her attention to the tree and its inhabitants. Anu meanwhile felt a tiny hand reach for his chin and guide his face to turn towards the hand's owner. Anu's golden eyes met a pair of startling blue ones. "G'day Kiddo," Anu said softly to the ape like creature he was staring at.

Sato heard a deep shuddering breath to her right and looked down at De Vaal. He was beside himself in awe as he watched Anu interact with the creature. "An australopithecine...or close enough," De Vaal had whispered.

"A what?" Saven asked. "Are you alright Ensign?"

De Vaal nodded, tears sliding down his face. "We had creatures like that on Earth, long ago. They eventually evolved into us...into humans," he explained. "I wish my father were still alive. His heart would sing with joy if I could share this with him," De Vaal choked. He added that many fossils of australopithecine had been found in his native South Africa and they all closely resembled the creature that was studying Anu.

Sato ran a hand over his blonde head and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "My Aunt Madeline is a biologist at Oxford, you are more than welcome to join me when I share these findings with her," she offered softly. De Vaal accepted by reaching a shaky hand up to pat the one she had resting on his shoulder.

Atop the shuttle pod, Nameela saw Silongo reach for his phaser and hissed. "Lieutenant!"

He silenced her by holding a hand up then pointing to a spot beyond the tree. "There...in the grass. The troupe is so focused on the little one there, that they don't realise they're being stalked. I'm only going to startle it, not kill it Commander," Silongo promise as he took aim. Nameela didn't see any predator where Silongo had pointed to until he fired his warning shot. A large tawny shape suddenly bolted away causing the troupe to startle and hide up in the tree.

The shot and resulting screeches from the troupe startled Anu's little friend and Anu had to reach up to keep the creature from falling in surprise. "Shh, it's alright mate. Lwazi's just trying to save your family," he cooed. The creature settled against Anu's chest as he continued to calm it.

"There are about half a dozen of the stronger ones going after the predator," Nameela announced suddenly. "Saven...you're about to have company down there. Another one of the creatures is coming through the grass towards you," she added.

The Vulcan heard a faint rustle in the long grass and turned his medical scanner towards the sound. "It would seem that the young man's mother is coming to fetch her wayward son," he calmly stated.

A female creature emerged cautiously from the grass and looked first at Anu and her son, then to the others gathered around. She sniffed the air and made soft noises toward her son. He replied with higher pitched ones before climbing out of Anu's arms and clambering up onto his shoulder. "If your mum's anything like mine mate, you're in for an earbashing later," he chuckled. "Oi! I don't have nits kid!" he added suddenly as the boy began grooming his hair looking for parasites.

The mother, satisfied that her son was in no danger, decided to inspect the other humanoids standing near her. She completely ignored the three Andorians and focused on Saven, Sato, and De Vaal. Sniffing Saven's scent she decided to ignore him as well, focusing on the two who smelled most like Anu. She came first to De Vaal and reached a hand up to wipe away the tears from his face. He reached up to wipe the tears from his other cheek and the female grasped his hand. He slowly opened his hand and the female placed hers into his. "Yes, it's like yours," he whispered.

The female studied the two hands for a moment before turning her attention to Sato. She was a little over three feet tall and Sato towered over her, but she didn't seem to mind. She reached out and patted Sato's abdomen and then patted her own. "I believe she's wondering if you are a mother as well Captain," Saven stated. "She is expecting a daughter at the moment. She may have only realised just recently that she was pregnant again."

Sato shook her head and softly stated that she didn't have any children. The side to side motion of Sato's head shake seemed to make sense to the female and she pointed towards her son and then back to her abdomen. "She understands Captain," De Vaal whispered in awe. The female turned her attention back to De Vaal. A sudden cacophony of noise from the troupe grabbed her attention and her son's. They both looked over to where their troupe was and the boy clambered down Anu to race to his mother's side. She hoisted him up onto her back and the pair disappeared into the long grass.

"The ones that went after the predator, they cornered it and killed it!" Nameela exclaimed excitedly. "They're bringing chunks of meat back to the tree to share with the others!" Nameela was bouncing on her toes in excitement as she watched the goings on by the tree. "There is a definite hierarchy, with females and the elderly being placed first," she added. Nameela continued to rattle off her findings as they came up on the scanner. She did this for half an hour before the troupe finished their meal and began to leave. Nameela continued to take scans as the troupe walked away from them until they were out of range.

Finally she turned to look at the group gathered on the ground and responded the only way she could at the moment. She shouted her joy and triumph for all to hear. The others laughed as she and Silongo climbed down to the ground and got aboard the shuttle pod. "My life is complete!' Nameela crowed as everyone boarded the two shuttles and took off for the _Hokkaido._ They had the comm open so that they could share their findings on the ride back. "That predator that Lwazi scared off was some sort of porcine like creature," the commander stated.

"Porcine?" Anu asked.

"Pig," Sato replied.

"That was a big bloody pig then," Silongo added. "It was about the size of a water buffalo."

"Cor...Imagine the pork chops you could get off of that thing!" Anu laughed.

"Anyway!" Nameela interrupted. "There are twenty seven members of that troupe, ranging in age from newborn to roughly forty Earth years."

"That would make sense," Saven added, "the female that came to us was about twenty years old and her son was about three." He was punching in his data onto the shuttle's computer and raised an eyebrow at what came back. Nameela was still on her high though and rattling off information.

"They appear to be a matriarchal society, with the females definitely calling the shots. There were ten males, and the rest females," Nameela added. "Oh they are going to go nuts on all the worlds where primates eventually evolved into the dominate species!"

"Are you done?" Saven asked.

"I haven't even started yet!" Nameela grinned.

"Well let me add this and then you may continue," Saven said a small smile on his face. "It would seem that Earth may want first crack at studying these creatures in detail. Ensign De Vaal was correct in that they are very similar to the primates that eventually lead to humans."

"They were australopithecines?" De Vaal asked in awe.

Saven nodded. "Close enough. Of all the primates that eventually lead to current species, these ones most closely resemble your human ancestors," he replied.

"Any idea why it completely ignored us though?" Talla asked. "That female didn't seem to even notice we were there."

"Your scent possibly, or your colouring," Saven replied. "When she got closer, she sniffed me and decided to ignore me as well."

"Really?" Nameela gaped.

"She may have only been interested in the species her son was interacting with. In this case, a human," Saven theorised.

Saven and Nameela were still discussing the discovery when the shuttle pods docked. Sato asked that they both download their scans and send copies to the terminal in her quarters. Once they were underway to Trill, she called over to De Vaal and had him join her. De Vaal was still shaken by the experience as Sato placed a call to Earth. Madeline Reed answered and grinned when she saw that it was her niece.

"Hullo Sweetheart! What can I do for you?" Madeline asked cheerily.

"Actually Aunt Maddie, it's what can I do for you," Sato replied. "This is Ensign Karal De Vaal, my communications officer. Karal, this is my aunt, Madeline Reed."

Madeline nodded to De Vaal as he did the same. "A pleasure Ensign."

"Likewise Ma'am,"

"Anyway..." Sato interrupted. "We were just on an uninhabited planet doing some field exercises when we came across a rather interesting species," Sato started. "I'm sending you copies of the readings my science officer and doctor took. I think you'll find them interesting."

"I have them," Madeline said cautiously as she watched the monitor and her niece's barely contained excitement. "What are they...Oh My GOD!"

"So you aren't interested then?" Sato teased.

"Not interested? Do you know what this means?" Madeline exclaimed.

Casting a glance at De Vaal, Sato grinned. "I have an idea. Ensign if you will,"

De Vaal gladly took over and explained the encounter with Madeline who had tears brimming in her eyes after a while. She admitted that she was incredibly envious of both Anu and De Vaal, who actually got to touch the creatures. "Add your niece to that list too," De Vaal teased and explained what had gone on between Sato and the female.

"I don't know whether to leave you everything or disown you completely," Madeline teased her niece. "Now let me get this straight Karal...you're a comms officer but you know a great deal about early hominids. How is that?"

"My late father was a veterinarian in South Africa. While he was in school, he volunteered for the Witwatersrand dig, when they found the Goldfield fossils. Early hominids had been his passion ever since," De Vaal explained.

"Your father helped dig up the most complete and important hominid fossils to date?" Madeline asked incredulously. "I can see why you know so much then."

"I only wish he were still alive to see these findings," De Vaal replied.

The conversation continued for over an hour before Madeline had to leave. Sato ended up having to relieve De Vaal of his regular duties so he could assist Nameela and Saven with their report on the findings. They were four days out from the Trill home world when De Vaal finally transmitted the report to several scientific institutes. He'd just finished the final transmission when the Hokkaido came under attack. "It's the bloody Klingons!" Anu shouted from his station.

Tbc...


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: That was nice and mean of me wasn't it? They're finally going to meet the Trill now...promise!

"Evasive manoeuvres," Sato barked as the ship was hit with another blast.

Anu was rocked hard and almost came out of his seat as he went to comply with the captain's orders. Another shot rocked the ship and sent power spikes throughout the system causing overloads. One of the overloads was at the comms station and De Vaal was thrown from his position and knocked unconscious. "Arses..." Anu muttered as he tried to get behind the Klingon ship.

Talla had taken over from the stricken De Vaal and registered when a group of Klingons had beamed aboard. "Intruders on C Deck!" Sato looked over to Tarran and jerked her head. Jassyk took her place at tactical as she rushed for the turbo lift, summoning security teams as she went.

Three Klingons had materialised aboard the _Hokkaido_. Nameela and Saven were making their way to sickbay and ran head long into them. One of the Klingons grabbed Nameela by the throat and held his dagger near her face. "Move and she dies Vulcan," he growled. Saven frowned in frustration as Nameela pleaded with her eyes that he do as he had been told.

One of the remaining Klingons heard Tarran coming in behind them and swung around to face her and her security team. She took advantage of her small size and ducked under the killing blow as he swung his bat'leth at her. She came up hard and fast and slammed her foot against his sword arm, snapping the bone and causing him to drop his blade. Rolling deftly away, Tarran grabbed the bat'leth and swung it at him as he charged her. His head landed with a sickening thud after being neatly severed from his body. Tarran glared at the remaining two Klingons in challenge.

Saven and Nameela locked gazes and Nameela blinked. The Klingon that had her by the throat never knew what hit him when she flexed her back and he was suddenly stabbed repeatedly down his torso. Saven reacted lightening fast and applied a nerve pinch to the Klingon and grabbed Nameela. Holding her closely and standing between her and the remaining Klingon, Saven watched as the lone one standing came to a decision. Barking into his communicator, he asked to be beamed back to the Klingon ship. The three Klingons vanished and Tarran looked over to Saven and Nameela.

"What the hell was that?" she demanded.

"You know that ridge down my back?" Nameela replied, her voice rough from her earlier treatment at the hands of the Klingon. Tarran nodded and the commander continued. "Female Denobulans have spines retracted into the folds of the ridge. It's a defensive holdover from our earlier evolution."

"But Saven knew you were going to do that," Tarran stated. "You two are bonded..." she added as the realisation hit her.

"I thought that was obvious," Saven stated as he held Nameela out a bit and ducked down to get a better view of her throat. "Those bruises don't look too good at all," he added as he surveyed her neck.

"Sato to all hands, brace yourselves!" the captain suddenly ordered over the ship's comm. Tarran, still holding the bat'leth reached for a handhold as Saven pulled Nameela to him again and braced them against a wall.

On the bridge, Sato crouched over De Vaal's still form to keep him from being jostled any further. "Hold onto your teeth," Anu growled low as he banked the _Hokkaido_ hard to port and away in a steep incline. Anu righted the ship behind the Klingon cruiser and Jassyk got a weapon's lock.

"Fire!" Sato ordered and Jassyk let loose with a barrage of phase cannons and torpedos.

"They're powering up engines," Jassyk stated. "They've gone into warp." As suddenly as the attack had begun it was over.

Sato nodded to Talla, who took over organising emergency crews and medical to where they were needed. Sato checked De Vaal and saw that he was still breathing although it was shallow. The medics that came on the bridge assured her that the ensign only had a mild concussion and would be fine as they hauled him away to sickbay. Taking her seat, she opened a channel to engineering. "Sato to Silongo, how does it look Lieutenant?"

"What the hell did that maniac do to my engines?" Silongo demanded. "Everything down here lit up like a fireworks display. I have shorts in all major systems and the engines are off line."

"That maniac, as you call him, just saved our lives," Sato replied. "How long before you can get us moving again?"

"I can give you half impulse at the moment Captain, but it'll take a while to assess all the damage," Silongo answered.

"Do what you can and keep me informed, Sato out," she leaned her head back for a moment and breathed. Turning her attention to Talla she asked for an update.

"Twelve casualties, including Nameela and Karal, no fatalities," Talla reported. "We have a hull breach on D Deck, but there are crews working to fix that right now." Sato was about to ask for further details when Talla spoke again. "We're being hailed. A vessel just dropped out of warp ten thousand kilometres ahead."

"Open a channel," Sato ordered.

"This is the Trill freighter _Jandar_; we saw the battle on sensors and have come to see if you require assistance,"

"This is Captain Hiroko Sato of the Star Ship _Hokkaido_. We'd greatly appreciate any assistance you can give us," Sato replied.

"We'll dock with you in two minutes. _Jandar_ out,"

"Well we went looking for them," Sato sighed. "Looks like they found us."

Tarran returned to the bridge and Sato gaped at her. "It's Klingon blood, don't worry...I'll tell you later,"

Sato nodded uncertainly before telling Tarran that she had the bridge. "We're about to dock with a Trill freighter that's offered us assistance. Come on Talla, you wanted to establish ties with them."

"She's fired up," Talla exclaimed cheerily as the two headed for the airlock.

"Really? I hadn't noticed," Sato snorted back.

"I can't wait to hear this story!"

Sato glanced at her friend and shook her head. At the airlock, she waited for the lock to pressurise before opening the hatch. Before her stood a tall man with brow ridges. One of the Trill minorities Sato thought, recalling the briefing Saven had given them. The security crewman who had met them at the airlock studied the man with interest.

"Captain Rand of the _Jandar_," he introduced himself. "How may we be of assistance?"

"Captain Sato and this is Federation Ambassador Talla Shran," Rand nodded towards Talla as she did the same. "We thank you for your offer and could use any help you can provide us in engineering Captain." Sato replied.

"Of course Captain, Ambassador," Rand replied. He leaned over to a comm panel on his side of the airlock. "Tobin, bring a crew to the port airlock please," he requested.

"Right away Rand, Dax out," Tobin Dax replied.

"If you ladies don't mind joining me aboard my ship?" Rand offered. "I'd like to know what brings you out here."

Sensing that Rand was being honest, she twitched her antennae in a way that let Sato know that Rand's offer was genuine. "We'd be delighted," Talla replied. "We came looking for your people as a matter of fact to establish diplomatic relations."

"I'll be happy to assist you in any way I can," Rand smiled as he stepped aside for Sato and Talla. On the Trill side of the airlock they were met by a four man crew. "Ah just in time. This is my chief engineer Tobin Dax, he will be assisting your engineers," Rand stated.

"My thanks," Sato replied with a small smile. Tobin's crew consisted of one Trill with brow ridges and the rest were spotted, like Tobin.

"Such a beautiful pattern," Talla commented taking in the spots running along Tobin's face and neck. Tobin blushed profusely as he mumbled his thanks to her for the compliment and Sato had to hide her smile.

"Crewman, would you lead these men to engineering please?" Sato asked the security crewman standing at ease behind them.

"Yes Captain," he replied, and lead Tobin and his team away.

Rand lead Talla and Sato to his office and had drinks brought to them. "You are human correct?" he asked Sato and she nodded. "I'm afraid I don't know your species," he directed to Talla.

"I'm actually a hybrid of both the dominant species of my home world," Talla replied. "Andoria is populated primarily by Andorians, and there is a minority sub species known as the Aenar. My father is Andorian and my mother Aenar," Talla explained. "I'm referred to as Andorian though, seeing as I hail from Andoria," she added.

"Fascinating. The humanoids of your world differentiate themselves?" Rand asked. "On my world, both humanoids are called Trills. Those of us with brow ridges and those, like Tobin, with spots," he explained.

"We only know a little about your people Rand," Sato stated, "which is why we're out here. We do know though that you join with a symbiotic creature, correct?"

Rand smiled broadly. "We do. The Symbionts and Trill have coexisted for countless ages. No one is quite sure when the Symbionts and Trills first formed that relationship," he explained. "I myself am joined. I was born Loraan, and when I became joined I took on the name of my symbiont, Rand. Tobin is also joined. However his people share the names of the host and symbiont," he continued. "Tobin was born Tobin Katarn, when he was joined with the Dax symbiont, he became Tobin Dax."

"My science officer is going to be beside herself getting to know your people better, Rand," Sato grinned.

"Is she Human or Andorian?" Rand asked.

"Actually, Commander Nameela is Denobulan," Talla replied. "There are four species on our ship. Our doctor is Vulcan," she continued.

"And you all cooperate freely?" Rand asked enquiringly.

"Our four species were among the eighteen who signed the original charter that started our Federation of Planets," Talla proudly proclaimed. "We've since admitted other worlds to our Federation. Our mission on the _Hokkaido_ is to extend the hand of friendship to other worlds."

"The Trill have been warp capable for nearly three centuries. It's only in the last century that we've gone out to establish trading and diplomatic relations with other species, instead of just using our technology to simply study the universe," Rand said. "I'd be happy to extend the hand of friendship on behalf of the Trill to your Federation," he added, rising from his seat and extending a hand to Talla.

Talla and Sato both rose along with him and each took his pro offered hand. "I look forward to working with your people and establishing that friendship," Talla replied with a large smile.

"I can give you a head start if you like." Rand said with a sly smirk. "Our legislature has set up a council that runs the off world trading industry. Each trading vessel is allowed the opportunity to establish new contact and direct them to the trade council, where more formal negotiations can be arranged."

"If only all first contacts were this easy," Talla laughed. Sato made a sound of agreement as Rand took his seat again and called up the trading council.

"Don't get me wrong, we'll defend ourselves if need be, but we'd rather work with others than fight them," Rand replied. He'd been put on hold while a legislator was contacted to begin talks with. "Those Klingons you had the run in with have been raiding our trade routes of late. We've taken some serious losses in both ships and commerce," Rand added gravely.

Sato and Talla exchanged glances. "We can relate," Sato snorted. The legislator came on screen just then and Talla began her negotiations with the Trill.

Tbc...


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: And now to find out how Dax...or rather Tobin, considered the initial contact with the _Hokkaido _and her crew, traumatising.

The opening talks between the legislator and Talla took over an hour. When the legislator learned of their current situation, he arranged for a more formal face to face meeting in eight days time. That would give the engineering crews of both ships enough time to fix the _Hokkaido_'s engines. As well Talla added later, for the _Hokkaido_'s crew and the Trill to get to start to know one another. Rand followed Sato and Talla back to the _Hokkaido_ so that they could give him a tour of their ship. Sensing her friend's conflict of priorities, Talla excused herself to go down to engineering to check on the progress that was being made. Sato gave her a smirk before turning her full attention to Rand and the tour.

They were closest to sickbay, so Sato decided to start there, knowing that Nameela and Saven were there. She also wanted to check on De Vaal. After the encounter with the hominid primates earlier in their voyage, Sato had developed a bit of an older sister feeling towards the young ensign. As she and Rand entered, Sato was relieved to see that there were only three occupants in sickbay. The others who had been injured in the attack had been discharged. Saven was applying a salve to Nameela's throat and looked up when he heard the doors. Nameela looked over and smiled a broad Denobulan smile.

"Denobulans normally aren't purple," she cheerily stated, indicating her bruised neck.

"How are you capable of smiling so widely?" Rand asked.

"Secondary facial muscles," Nameela grinned.

"Captain Rand, this is Doctor Saven and Commander Nameela," Sato introduced. Saven and Nameela nodded as they were introduced. "Rand and his crew are going to be docked with us while we make engine repairs and then lead us to his home world," Sato told the two.

"Please forgive any overly eager interest Nameela and I may show you and your crew," Saven stated.

"We're scientists, so we're naturally nosey," Nameela added.

Rand laughed. "That's quite alright. Trills are generally very curious people as well. I got into the off world trade business to learn about other people and their cultures. The financial gain is just coincidental."

"Forgive my interruption here," Sato said after a moment. "Doctor? How's Karal doing?"

"He'll be fine. His concussion is healing nicely, but I wish to keep him overnight. He was also mildly electrocuted when the overload went through his consol," Saven explained.

Sato nodded as she wandered over to De Vaal's bedside and brushed her hand over his hair. Saven and Nameela glanced at each other and raised matching eyebrows. "Captain Rand, you said you like learning of new cultures?" Nameela queried. Sato smiled, knowing what Nameela was up to. Rand was about to reply when a hail came over the comm.

"Engineering to Saven," Anu called.

"Saven, go ahead."

"Could you come down here Doc? We had a static surge and it's had an interesting affect on Talla, Tarran, and one of the Trill engineers," Anu explained.

"On my way," Saven replied. "Could you call for your chief medical officer Captain? I'm afraid I know very little about your species," he added to Rand. Rand nodded and did as Saven requested. Nameela offered to meet the medic at the airlock and escort them to engineering.

In Engineering, Saven found the two Andorian women looking amused and the chief engineer of the _Jandar_ looking somewhat amazed. Sato looked to her two crew members while Rand looked over Tobin, somewhat perplexed by his calm demeanour.

"Tarran, who's watching my bridge?" Sato asked after Saven determined that they weren't in any immediate danger.

"Lieutenant Lee," Tarran replied. "I had to go change uniforms anyway," she added.

"What happened exactly?" Saven asked Silongo.

"Tobin here was working on one of the phase coil inverters when a static charge arched out at him," the engineer stated. "Talla and Tarran had been talking to him and the static arched from Tobin over to them. After a moment, all three seemed to be..." Silongo trailed off at a loss to describe what had happened.

"It's like they were all sharing a brain," Anu described.

"That'll explain the heightened activity in the telepathic regions of Talla and Tarran's minds," Saven stated checking his readings. "I'd need to scan a joined Trill to compare Tobin's readings though..."

"I'm joined," Rand interrupted. "You may scan me." Saven nodded his thanks and ran his scanner over Rand and the symbiont inside him then compared the scans to the ones he'd taken of Tobin.

"Are the symbionts telepathic?" Saven asked as he studied the two scans.

"Mildly so. It's how joined Trill know each other instantly," the newly arrived Trill medic replied. The story was repeated for the medic, Liana and she nodded her head wisely. "The symbionts do require a little static electricity to communicate with each other," she informed Saven. "Dax is still quite young, just under a hundred years old. Dax may have sensed your telepaths and reached out to try and connect to them."

"Is this common?" Saven asked.

Liana shook her head. "Never happened before as far as I know. We may need the assistance of one of the guardians to figure this out."

"Guardians?"

"Unjoined Trill who care for the symbionts when they aren't residing in a host," Liana replied. "The symbionts reproduce in underground pools. The guardians care for them and make sure their environment is at optimal conditions. They tend to be rather spoiled creatures," Liana teased. She saw the reaction to her last comment and smiled. "My brother Lakan is a guardian. He loves his work and couldn't dream of doing anything else, but he does tend to complain. However, what the guardians don't know about the symbionts is not worth knowing."

"Saven?" Nameela asked, looking up at the Vulcan as he scrutinised the trio before him.

"I'm curious as to how strong this link is," he said.

"Like the bond you share with Nameela, only much stronger," Tobin replied. At the surprised looks he got, he continued. "I know everything they know...with the exception of the things they wish to keep private."

"Same here," Tarran replied.

"We have everything you could ever want to know about the Trill downloaded into our heads," Talla smiled at Nameela.

"Believe me when I say that I'll be taking advantage of that!" Nameela promised with a teasing grin.

Liana snapped her scanner closed and turned to Saven. "There's nothing we can do until we get to Trill, except keep an eye on them."

"Agreed," Saven nodded.

"I have to ask though," Liana queried. "Are your telepaths confident women? Tobin is normally rather shy and bashful."

Saven smirked lightly while the other members of the _Hokkaido_ crew laughed. "Andorian females are notoriously aggressive. These two are no exception," the doctor replied.

"I have a bat'leth and I'm not afraid to use it Vulcan," Tarran snarled.

"So I saw," he replied.

"Since we're on the subject...what happened Tarran?" Sato asked.

"The Klingon charged me, I got his bat'leth from him, he charged me again and lost his head," Tarran shrugged.

"Klingons do not take losing their swords in battle lightly," Rand warned. "You have earned an enemy."

"No I haven't. He literally lost his head," Tarran repeated. "I removed it from his shoulders with his own sword." The gathered Trill with the exception of Tobin, stared at her in awe.

"Forgive me for saying so, but you are a tiny thing. How did you best a Klingon?" Liana asked.

"Like the Doc said," Anu sniggered. "Andorian women are really aggressive."

"You're just asking to get your ass kicked, aren't you?" Tarran said glaring at Anu.

Talla glanced over to Anu and chuckled as he held his hands up in surrender. "She's just teasing," Talla assured him.

"I know she is," he smirked.

"Would you kindly get out of my head?" Tarran directed to Talla.

"I'd love to," Talla replied, smiling sweetly. The two women then turned to stare at Tobin, focusing on the area of his abdomen where the Dax symbiont resided.

Tobin held up his hands, "I can't break the connection."

"I'll call the Symbiosis Commission and ask them to inform the guardians," Liana sighed.

"My sickbay is closer if you wish," Saven offered. Liana accepted and Saven began to lead her away. "Nameela?"

"Hmm? Oh no you go ahead," Nameela waved behind her. Saven shook his head and continued to lead Liana away. "This is entertaining!"

"I hate you," Tarran muttered.

"You love me and you know it," Nameela replied with a broad grin.

"No really...I hate you."

"Are all your people like this?" Rand chuckled.

"You'd think a crew escorting an Ambassador on a diplomatic mission would be more professional," Sato sighed. "Obviously not..."

Talla smirked. "Who got a high ranking Vulcan minister drunk?" she teased.

"And on that note," Sato sighed to Rand, who was laughing with the others. "Welcome to the comedy routine _SS Hokkaido_. Please enjoy your visit."

Tbc...


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Having two strong beautiful Andorian hybrids in his head isn't enough for poor Tobin Dax...no. There has to be a hiccup!

Ensign Karal De Vaal awoke to hear the sounds of an animated conversation. In his field of vision he could make out three figures near the foot of the bed he lay on. Shaggy sandy blonde hair and dark skin, Ian, his brain registered. Tall, lean, no hair, and very dark skin, Lwazi, his memory supplied for him. Compact, white hair, antennae, and blue skin, Jassyk, his synapses told him. And he was leaning against the bed his synapses added. They also had their backs turned to him.

"The gang's all here," he murmured.

"G'day mate!" Anu greeted cheerfully.

"It lives," Silongo teased.

"Decided that being horizontal was getting boring huh?" Jassyk asked.

"Horizontal has its benefits, boy," Lwazi declared glancing down at Jassyk. Anu laughed while Jassyk blushed purple.

"Why am I in sickbay?" De Vaal asked.

"Your consol blew up from a power overload and you got barbequed," Anu replied.

"I believe what Ian meant to say was; your consol blew up and you received a concussion and electric shock as a result," De Vaal heard Saven say as he came over to check on his patient.

"We've been on this voyage for a month now and I still can't get used to the fact that a Vulcan can have a sense of humour," De Vaal murmured as Saven read the monitors next to him.

"If it eases your mind any, I can fake it enough that other Vulcans think I'm like them....sane," Saven remarked dryly. "Do you feel able to sit up?"

"I think so," De Vaal replied.

Saven pressed the button that brought the head of the bed up and soon De Vaal was comfortably reclined. From his new position he could see across sickbay and discovered the source of the conversation he'd heard when he woke. Talla and Tarran were both facing a man sitting on a bio bed on the other side of the room. They turned simultaneously and smiled at De Vaal.

"Good to see you awake Ensign," Tarran greeted.

"How do you feel?" Talla added.

"Like I've been shat on by a herd of elephants," De Vaal replied groggily.

"Huh?" came five alien replies.

"He's still feeling a bit down and out," Silongo said, trying desperately to keep from laughing. "Shat on by one is usually fatal," he reminded to De Vaal.

"Who is our guest?" De Vaal asked, changing the subject.

"This is Tobin," Tarran said indicating the man seated next to her. "And tucked away in there is Dax," she added, gesturing to his abdomen. "Combined they are known as Tobin Dax...and Dax has been naughty,"

"What did I miss?"

"Klingons showed up, overloaded a few power systems, that's where you got fried," Anu started. "Some of them beamed aboard. Tarran decapitated one and Nameela stabbed another with spines that are hidden in her back. Klingons left. Trill arrived. The Trills offered to help fix the engines which lead to another electrocution," he added cheerily, "And now those three all share a hive mind like thing..." he concluded.

"What the hell did you just say?" De Vaal muttered, shaking his head. Saven clapped a hand over Anu's mouth and answered De Vaal's question more thoroughly.

"So you three are telepathically linked?" De Vaal asked the trio across the room. They nodded as one, which he found a little eerie. "And you can only go so far from each other before it gets uncomfortable?"

"Headaches for us, and one hell of a stomach ache for Tobin," Talla replied.

Just then the doors to sickbay opened, admitting Nameela, who was casually dressed and carrying a large duffle bag. Saven gave her a soft smile, which quickly turned to a scowl that he directed at the four young men next to him. The four of them had all wolf whistled when Nameela had walked in. Understandable, the stubbornly logical part of Saven's mind figured, seeing as she was wearing a long silk robe in soft purple and her blonde hair was draped over her shoulder in a loose braid. The less logical part of Saven's mind gave voice to what he thought of the appreciation shown towards her.

"Mine," he warned in a low voice.

"Denobulans are polyamorous," Jassyk reminded him with a smirk.

"I'm old enough to be the mother of all four of you," Nameela gently teased as she came over. "Not to mention I outrank all of you as well."

"I see what your captain meant about this ship being a comedy routine," Tobin chuckled.

"We get silly when we're sleepy," Anu replied.

"Then I suggest that it's time for little boys to be going to bed," Nameela smirked.

One look at Saven had quelled any retorts that might have been forthcoming. Instead Nameela was told "Yes Ma'am," in three humbled voices, as Anu, Jassyk, and Silongo made for the exit.

"See ya in the morning mate," Anu called out to De Vaal.

"We'll come and get you for breakfast," Silongo added.

"Good night," Jassyk called out just before the doors closed behind them.

"Even though you've been unconscious for most of the day, I suggest you get some sleep too," Nameela told De Vaal as she leaned over to give him a chaste kiss on the cheek. De Vaal snorted as Nameela turned and headed over to the other side of sickbay. "Changes of clothes as requested," she said cheerfully, handing over the duffle bag to Talla. Tarran quickly snatched it and began digging through it.

"Whu?" De Vaal muttered.

"Because of the nature of their link, they'll be spending the night here," Saven explained.

"It's the only place on either ship big enough and comfortable enough where we can still be monitored," Talla added.

"What the hell?" Tarran muttered as she pulled out a thick tome on quantum string theory.

"Light reading while I babysit," Nameela replied as she took the book from Tarran. Tobin asked to see the book and Nameela gladly handed it over.

Tarran gave her a perplexed look before grabbing a bundle of clothes and turning to Saven. "Shower's through there?" Saven nodded and Tarran disappeared.

Nameela looked up when she barely heard Talla whisper under her breath something about being mean. She looked at the Ambassador who had her eyes closed and was shaking her head. Glancing at Tobin, she saw that he was too engrossed in the book to realise what was going on. Nameela narrowed her eyes and smirked. The Commander liked a good prank as much as the next person.

Across the room, De Vaal heard a faint groan beside him and looked up at Saven. Saven had his arms folded and was shaking his head softly. De Vaal looked over to Talla and Nameela, then the spot where Tarran had disappeared to take a shower, and lastly at Tobin, who was oblivious to everything around him.

"Oh he's screwed," De Vaal chuckled softly as it dawned on him what was going on.

Tobin Dax was just starting to read about the possibility of infinite parallel worlds according to string theory, when a brilliant image flashed through his mind. Nameela had had the foresight to place a hand out to catch the book when it slid from his numb fingers. Another brilliant image flooded Tobin's mind and he flushed scarlet. Had he not possessed the borrowed confidence of the two Andorian women, he would have fainted. As it was Tobin was having difficulty breathing.

"Alright Tarran, that's enough," Talla called out.

"That's for being nosy and getting us stuck like this in the first place!" Tarran hollered from the shower.

De Vaal was roaring in laughter as Tobin tried desperately to collect himself and failed. It was going to be an interesting night. The following morning De Vaal woke up feeling a lot better than he had the day before. He looked across the room to find Talla and Tarran fast asleep. Unfortunately the same couldn't be said for Tobin. He had dark circles under his eyes from a distinct lack of sleep. He'd settled for reading up on mathematical theorems to pass the night. De Vaal slipped out of bed and went to take a shower and get changed. He chuckled as he tried to imagine what Tarran had planted in Tobin's mind the night before.

Silongo arrived to pick up De Vaal and glanced worriedly over at Tobin. "Couldn't you sleep well?" he asked the man.

Tobin shook his head and gestured to the bio bed where Tarran slept. "That one's evil," he muttered.

"Couldn't Saven have given you a sleep aid? Those usually block out dreams?" Silongo queried.

"Sleep aids don't work well on joined Trill," Tobin muttered before going to back to his reading.

Silongo gave Tobin a pitied look as De Vaal came out showered and dressed. "I'm released?" he called over to Nameela who was filling in for Saven overnight. She got up and ran the scanner over him before telling him that he was fine and could leave. "Thanks!" he grinned and grabbed Silongo by the elbow.

"What's the rush?" Silongo asked once they were in the hall. De Vaal had let go of him and as doubled over in laughter. After a few attempts he managed to tell Silongo about Tarran's prank the night before. "That explains why he referred to her as evil," Silongo chuckled.

Half an hour later, Saven arrived in sickbay bearing a tray of food. He gave Talla and Tarran a covered plate each and set a third one down next to the bio bed Tobin had been in the night before. He carried the remaining two plates into his office where Nameela looked up and grinned at him in thanks. "Where's Tobin?" he inquired as he picked up a fork to start eating.

"Shower. Poor thing didn't get any sleep last night," Nameela replied as she tucked into her own meal. Sensing her barely contained humour Saven asked what had happened. "After Karal left, Tobin decided to go take a shower," Nameela chuckled. "Talla and Tarran had been asleep but woke up not long after and Tarran had made a comment about his spots. Which Talla agreed with, remarking that they went all the way down. Not thinking I walked right in to see for myself and...eh...he's a bit mortified right now," she admitted sheepishly.

"I see." Saven replied after a moment.

"Scientific curiosity!" Nameela defended, holding up a hand.

"I understand," Saven said. "It's a good thing I found out that they won't need Tobin to finish the repairs. I'm sure he could use the sleep."

"Talla apparently dreams about compromising situations with willing young men and Tarran dreams about glorious hand to hand battles. Just so you know," Nameela stated as Saven rose to talk to Tobin. Saven looked at her in bewilderment. "That's what Tobin said."

"Okay..." Saven left his office and headed for the bathroom. Tobin was finishing getting dressed and Saven announced himself before entering. He explained that Tobin was free to get some much needed rest and assured him that he'd make sure the Andorians would behave. Tobin sighed in relief as Saven left him to his privacy once more.

"I suggest you two find something to keep you occupied in here, that does not involve harassing our guest," Saven stated in a commanding tone. "I will fetch you anything you need...within reason," he added as an afterthought.

"If I can use one of your terminals, I can work on weapons maintenance," Tarran replied.

"I'll just need a few blank padds so I can start working on possible trade deals and negotiations," Talla added.

"That will be acceptable," Saven agreed. "Tarran the terminal in my office is free, you may use that one. There are blank padds in the drawer beside you Ambassador," he added. With that he turned on his heel and went into his office to finish his breakfast with Nameela.

The two blinked at each other for a moment then looked to where Saven had walked away. "And he says he's not like the rest of his people," Talla snorted.

"No wonder Nameela likes him so much," Tarran added.

Sensing where Tarran's mind was drifting Talla hissed. "We promised!"

"Oh sorry!" Tarran blushed.

Tobin entered a moment later and didn't even notice the two pretending to be busy. He lay on his stomach on the bio bed and was soon fast asleep. Talla and Tarran were treated his version of happy dreams for the next few hours. Extremely complex mathematical equations.

Tbc...


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Nice interim chapter before the conclusion starts.

Captain Hiroko Sato had been having an interesting few days of late. First her ship was attacked by Klingons, who left almost as suddenly as they had arrived. Then they were helped by a freighter full of Trill on their way home from a trip. Two members of her crew, her friend and Federation Ambassador Talla, and her tactical officer were now currently mentally bound to one of the Trills through a freak accident. Engine repairs were almost complete and the two ships would be on their way to the Trill home world the following day, where hopefully a group of experts could unbind the telepathically bound trio residing in her sickbay. Hiroko blew a breath out from pursed lips and reached over to her terminal. She wanted to call home.

"David! You're on holiday visiting Mum and Dad?" Sato asked cheerfully when her brother answered.

"Well well, if it isn't Captain Hiroko Attenborough, accidental naturalist," he replied teasingly. "Yeah I'm home for a visit. The Pilgrimage is in full swing on Vulcan. So there's not much for me to do there, while the Vulcans contemplate their emotions."

"Is that your sister?" Hiroko heard her father's voice in the background. Hiroko grinned as she saw her father step into view drying his hands on a tea towel. "Hullo Sweetheart," he greeted.

"Hullo Dad, where's Mum?" David and Malcolm Reed chuckled at that.

"Your mother is probably shooing away science professors at the university," Malcolm laughed.

"Why would they be bothering her?" Hiroko asked.

"Your little safari has generated one hell of an explosion of interest," David replied, "Not only here on Earth, but several other worlds as well. There's an expedition in the works and schools across the globe are clamouring for a chance to be part of it."

"Your Aunt Madeline asked me to apologise on her behalf if I heard from you," Malcolm added with a smirk, "But she is taking full advantage of the fact that she is your aunt as she oversees Oxford's bid to be the Earth institute that gets the nod for the trip," he explained.

"Wot?" Hiroko blinked a few times. "What is going on back there?"

"Oop, Mum's home," David replied having heard sounds coming from the back door.

"Your discovery has scientific institutions and schools across the world in an uproar. They all want to..." Malcolm Reed was suddenly interrupted by a frazzled Hoshi Sato-Reed.

"You...." Hoshi growled low in her throat, pointing at the screen. "You did this! You and your space monkeys! I can't even use the toilet at school without someone nagging me to help them persuade the bid commission!"

"I'm sorry Mum," Hiroko replied meekly.

Hoshi flopped down into the chair that David had vacated for her and laughed. "Don't be Sweetie, I'm just teasing. It's not like they have a snowball's chance in hell anyway."

"Oh? How come?"

"The three main contenders for the bid are Oxford, the Smithsonian, and The Institute of Biology of Africa," Hoshi replied. "The guy spearheading the Africa bid is apparently employing a similar technique to Madeline's."

David returned with another chair and saw his sister's confused look. "He says he's related to one of the report writ..."

"Doctor Adam De Vaal?" Hiroko asked suddenly.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Malcolm asked.

"His baby brother is my comms officer, that South African kid you were having the lovely chat with Mum."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah...their father had an interest in early human evolution that he shared with his sons. Karal helped write the majority of the report relating to comparisons with other early primates." Hiroko explained.

"Maddie is going to be pissed!" Hoshi laughed.

"That's an understatement," Malcolm agreed.

"Well I had very little to do with it. I just run the ship. Karal was the one who was beside himself with glee and spouting off information planet side when we were making friends with them," Hiroko added. "Aunt Maddie talked to him right after we returned to the ship. I let him sit in with me when I sent her our original scans."

"Did you by any chance talk to his brother?" Malcolm inquired.

"Yes, after we spoke with Aunt Maddie. Karal was quite moved by the encounter because his dad had died a few years earlier in a transport crash. Karal said his dad would have loved what we found," Hiroko explained. "We called his brother up after we spoke to Maddie and gave him the exact same information we gave her. We didn't talk long though because he had a class to get to."

David laughed. "She's going to cut you out of her will for consorting with the enemy," he teased.

Hiroko rolled her eyes as her family chuckled on the screen. "If anything, the discovery was completely by accident. We'd gone to the planet to run security drills."

Malcolm placed a hand over his heart and smiled. "I'm so proud," he laughed.

Hoshi playfully smacked her husband. "So besides stumbling across some interesting monkeys, how's your trip been?" Hiroko sighed with relief at the change of subject and began regaling them with the adventures of the _SS Hokkaido_.

Captain Rand and his medical officer Liana were in sickbay chatting with the occupants in there. Nameela was recording notes on one of the terminals as Saven talked with Liana about Trill biology. She was also talking with Rand, who was engrossed in a conversation with the telepathically bound trio. De Vaal had come in earlier because of a headache. As he was off duty at the time, he stayed and joined the various conversations flying back and forth. Liana had been explaining the sparse population of the Trill home world and De Vaal grinned excitedly. "We had something like that happen to us too!" he replied when she talked about an ancient eruption that nearly wiped out her species.

"Really? What happened to your people?" Liana asked.

"It took place about seventy thousand years ago on Earth," De Vaal started to explain. "Two centuries ago, scientists had found a genetic bottle neck in a survey they were doing, tracking how our species spread across our planet. At the same time, geologists were writing up a report about a massive super volcanic eruption they called Toba."

"Ah, humans have had more time to recover then," Liana replied. "Our eruption was only fifteen thousand years ago. We were reduced to probably ten thousand individuals, give or take. How did your scientists make the connection?"

De Vaal's face lit up in a grin as he replied. "We were reduced to about ten thousand or so too!" he exclaimed. "A man...I forgot his name," De Vaal paused. "Anyway, he'd read the paper about the population bottle neck and a little while later he was sitting in on a lecture about the Toba eruption. It dawned on him that both events took place at roughly the same time and he made the connection. Further study showed that he was probably right."

"It was Professor Stanley H Ambrose," Nameela supplied. She'd looked up the information while De Vaal had been talking. He snapped his fingers then pointed to Nameela.

"What she said! I always get all those names confused." Liana chuckled as Nameela reached over and patted De Vaal's knee.

"That's alright dear heart, you've just had a concussion," Nameela teased. "I still say you're wasted as a comms officer though," she added.

"I told you, that's way too much school work for my taste. I like interacting with people," he replied with a grin.

"You're not a scientist?" Liana asked incredulously. De Vaal shook his head no, while Nameela smiled at him affectionately.

"Well neither am I," Rand interrupted. "And you and I have had some fascinating conversations over the years."

"This is true, but your previous host was a theoretical physicist," Liana agreed.

"And have we ever discussed theoretical physics?" Rand asked.

"Good point." Liana laughed.

"I've found in my interactions with Humans and especially Denobulans, that they have a tendency to be interested in a variety of subjects, that don't necessarily correspond to their field of expertise," Saven supplied.

"Are you suggesting that Andorians are narrow minded?" Tarran teased.

"Narrowly focused yes. Narrow minded, no. Think about it for a moment, besides fields that pertain to your position, what are your interests?" Saven challenged. Tarran thought about it for a few moments. Occasionally she would start to say something only to decide against it. Talla considered Saven's challenge and began thinking of things not related to diplomacy and found that she didn't have any interests not at least partially related to her specialty. "Like I said," Saven smiled softly.

"Jassyk likes music...but his mum is a musician," De Vaal trailed off as he thought about it on his friend's behalf.

"From what I've learned from Talla and Tarran, Vulcans are also narrowly focused," Tobin said. "No offense intended."

"None taken and we are indeed. It's a by product of my people's dedication to logic," Saven replied.

"But..." Tobin started, looking at Saven curiously.

"I am not like most of my people when it comes to the tenacity of that dedication," Saven explained. "I was raised among a very different culture and my mother allowed me to explore different ways of thinking," he added. "She believed in Surak's teaching of 'Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations'. My father didn't share her view of logic which is why he left us when I was very young."

"How could a father just walk away and leave his child?" Tobin asked his voice full of sadness. "I'd think that no matter how different my child's views were, I couldn't do that."

Saven shrugged. "My father admired Mother's dedication to the Inter Species Medical Exchange, but he was never comfortable on Denobula. Denobulans are a very gregarious people," he said, taking Nameela's hand in his. "When he saw that her interpretations of Surak's teachings where they pertained to my upbringing were different from his own, he had their marriage dissolved and returned to Vulcan."

"That's so sad. I couldn't imagine my life without my father," Liana said.

"It's all I've ever known," Saven replied. "I was four when he left us. I have no ill feeling towards him though, that's not how Mother raised me."

"But you must have at least wondered what it would have been like if he was in your life?" Talla asked.

Saven just shook his head as Nameela spoke up. "Saven's mother T'Lan was assigned to my work with my first mother when she arrived on Denobula. They still work together to this day. They became dear friends and after Saven's father left, my family essentially adopted T'Lan and Saven into our extended brood."

"What's two more at the table to a Denobulan family," Saven chuckled. "Nameela's first, second and third fathers gladly filled in the void left by my own."

Rand shook his head as he tried to wrap his mind around Denobulan families. They had discussed the topic earlier and he couldn't begin to understand the complexities that Nameela and Saven took for granted.

"Is that how you two ended up bonded?" Tobin asked, thinking along the same lines as Rand.

"No that was the result of my curiosity about the freely open sexual nature of the Denobulans around me," Saven replied.

"He was curious and I was available," Nameela added. "And being a typical Denobulan in the matters of love, I threw my whole focus and being into his 'experiment'." De Vaal laughed when she made quotation marks with her fingers at the word experiment. "The funny thing though," she continued, "is that I have no interest in marrying because of the bond. Denobulans engage in polygamy for the fulfilment that it provides. With the bond I have with Saven I have that fulfilment."

"It could also be that you were twenty and I was nineteen at the time. We were still quite young," Saven stated.

Nameela shrugged then she saw the thoughtful looks mirrored on Talla and Tarran's faces. "That's not to say I don't willingly take on the occasional lover or two," she told the two Andorians.

Saven laughed. "I think they're still recovering on Risa after our last visit."

"I wasn't the only one." Nameela teased.

"I'm not denying that I didn't indulge. However, it was nowhere near to the extent that you did," Saven replied. De Vaal was about to interrupt to change the subject when Silongo walked in. "How can I help you Lieutenant?" Saven asked the newcomer.

"I came looking for Karal," he replied with a smile as he greeted everyone.

De Vaal snapped his fingers and hopped off the bio bed he'd been sitting on. "I completely forgot!" he laughed. "It has been a wonderful afternoon but I must ask your forgiveness. I have a prior engagement for the evening," he added as he took his leave.

"What are you two up to?" Tarran asked.

"We're going to introduce Jassyk to the joys of cricket!" Silongo enthused.

"I downloaded the game earlier today. South Africa against Pakistan in Pretoria," De Vaal added as the two turned to leave.

"I want to see if this new Pakistani demon bowler is as good as the experts are claiming," Silongo could be heard saying as the doors closed.

"An Earth sport that the Tribal Trio are obsessed with," Talla stated to some of the confused looks people had. As had been the case for most of the afternoon, the topic changed again and they began discussing sports as Talla and Tarran explained what cricket was.

Tbc...


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: One more chapter and then the epilogue.

Saven had joined Rand in escorting Talla, Tarran, and Tobin to the Caves of Mak'ala, where hopefully one of the Guardians there could break the telepathic link that had bound the three for the last several days. Rand and the three watched in amusement as Saven gazed around his surroundings in wide eyed fascination. A pale skinned Guardian walked by before coming to an abrupt halt and turning to Tobin Dax.

"Oh my, someone's been naughty," he murmured softly as he held a hand above the place where Dax rested and scrutinised Tobin's eyes.

"I can't break the link," Tobin replied. "All three of us have tried."

"I didn't think so," the Guardian replied nonchalantly. "You're both still young and you've only recently been joined. Come with me, the rest of you stay here," he said and lead Tobin away.

Talla and Tarran followed the pair with their eyes while Saven kept watch over the two women. Where ever the Guardian had led Tobin, it wasn't beyond the limit that caused pain in their link. Tobin and the Guardian returned shortly after having Tobin change into pants and a tunic like those that the Guardians wore. The Guardian scrutinised two of the pools before deciding on the smaller one. "Come on, wake up," he said patting the edge of the pool.

Tobin was instructed to wade into the pool and let the resident in there take care of the rest. The Guardian joined the others as they watched Tobin carefully enter the milky water. Saven reached for his scanner only to have the Guardian snap it closed and confiscate it from him. "There's no need for distractions, I'll let you look in a moment." Saven murmured his apologies which the Guardian seemed oblivious to.

Once in the pool a shape briefly broke the surface as it swam towards Tobin. Tiny sparks of static emitted from the symbiont and Tobin's head fell back as he let loose a sigh of relief. Talla and Tarran's heads also fell back and Rand and Saven managed to catch them as they swooned. The two recovered moments later but remained a little shaky. The Guardian glanced over at Rand as he held Talla steady and narrowed his eyes. "No need to be jealous because the youngster managed to ensnare two beautiful women," he softly chastised the symbiont residing in Rand.

Coming out of the trance like state he'd been in Tobin slowly opened his eyes and glanced over at the others. He no longer possessed the confidence that he'd borrowed from the two Andorians. His face flushed bright red and he hung his head mumbling apology after apology. Rand chuckled and stated that that was the Tobin Dax he knew as Talla and Tarran fully recovered from the ordeal.

"It is so nice to have you out of my head," Talla teased as she looked over to Tarran.

"Likewise," Tarran smirked before turning her attention to Tobin.

"It was a good thing Gelad was here resting between hosts," the Guardian murmured as he helped Tobin from the pool. The Guardian began to lead Tobin away and handed Saven's scanner back to him as he passed. "Don't get too inquisitive please?" he added as he led Tobin away to change.

Saven ran the scanner over the two Andorians first and was satisfied that they appeared fine after their ordeal. Quickly turning his attentions to the pools he began taking discrete scans of the symbionts residing within. Several of them came to the edges of their pools to investigate him but most of them ignored Saven.

Tarran glanced at Talla and then over to Rand. "Jealous huh?" she teased. Talla placed a hand over her mouth to hide her amusement. Rand simply pointed to his abdomen to indicate the Rand symbiont.

"Not that I disagree with the Guardian's description of you both, but this is the jealous one," he replied.

Tobin returned just then and hung his head shyly as he came up to the two Andorians to offer his profuse apologies. Talla shot Tarran a look and Tarran nodded as Talla placed a comforting hand on Tobin's shoulder. "It's alright, we forgive you," Talla said softly.

"Besides, it's been an interesting experience," Tarran added.

"Since your memories were integrated into the Dax symbiont," the Guardian interrupted as he ambled back into the main chamber. "You both will now be well remembered for a very long time."

Talla gave Rand a questioning glance and he smiled softly. "My symbiont is over two thousand years old, and I can recall all the memories of all twenty seven hosts prior to me," he told her.

"That one's not even a hundred yet," Tarran said, pointing to Tobin.

"This is almost as good as the Wall of Heroes on Andoria," Talla grinned.

"Now before we overstay our welcome in the caves, I suggest we leave and I'll escort you to your guest house in the capitol," Rand offered politely. He and Tobin had to return to the _Jandar_ for their next cargo run.

Once they were in the capitol, Tarran headed back for the _Hokkaido_ to inform Sato that the link had been broken. She also wanted some peace for herself, saying that while she vowed to protect Talla with her life, being linked telepathically to the Ambassador had been a bit much. Since they would be staying in orbit around Trill while Talla handled negotiations between the Federation and Trill, it had been decided that the crew would take shore leave in shifts. Sato followed the senior staff down a few days after they'd departed.

"Do I even want to know what the boys have been doing?" Sato asked Nameela when the four members of the Tribal Trio had walked by laughing and chatting excitedly. Sato and Nameela were going to dinner with Talla and Saven at a local restaurant that they'd heard rave reviews about.

"They discovered that the Trills have something similar to their surfing," Nameela replied with chuckle. "Apparently they entered a local amateur competition yesterday. Ian and Karal are going to be in the final tomorrow," she added.

"Did anyone remember to bring down the leashes?" Sato asked, shaking her head.

"Perhaps we should have them sent down," Nameela added with a cheeky grin. "It would seem that the boys have quite a following among the young ladies they've met at the beach."

"Which is why I've taken upon myself to babysit," Tarran said as she came up to join the two women. Sato and Nameela both raised eyebrows at Tarran's appearance. She was wearing a long, white, backless halter dress with deep slits up both sides of the skirt. Her long white hair was hanging in a braid over her shoulder and her make-up complimented her blue skin without appearing over done.

"I might borrow that from you if you don't mind," Nameela said after a moment.

"Looking good Lieutenant Commander!" Anu stated boldly as he returned from his guest quarters dressed for a night on the town.

"You look presentable," Tarran replied as she eyed the black suit he was wearing. His collar was open and the sleeves were rolled up slightly.

"Look out Trill, here comes Tarran the Magnificent!" Silongo laughed as he and De Vaal appeared in the hallway. De Vaal was dressed similarly to Anu only in dark grey and Silongo had opted for slacks and a button down in black.

Talla entered the hallway of the guesthouse as Jassyk came out of his quarters. "And where are you going all dressed up?" Talla teased as she walked with Jassyk to meet the others. Jassyk had opted for a stylish tee and slacks in white.

"We were invited to a club," Jassyk replied eagerly.

"I see," Talla smiled as they rounded a corner. Talla spied Tarran and pointed. "I can borrow that for the dinner tomorrow night?" she asked referring to Tarran's daring gown.

"This one or the black one I have?" Tarran asked and Talla replied that she wanted the white one Tarran was currently wearing. "Sure."

"M'lady," Silongo said, offering his arm for Tarran.

"Flatterer," she teased as she slid her own into his and the quintet turned to leave for the evening.

"Behave!" Sato called out after them.

"I want you home by midnight," Nameela added teasingly.

"Yes Mum. We'll think about it!" Anu called back.

"I'll show you 'Mum' boy," Nameela retorted, as Sato and Talla laughed.

"Tarran, gentlemen," Saven greeted as he came upon them in the hallway. He watched as they left before turning to the three women further down the hall. "Not that I wish to brag," he said as he joined them. "But I think I received the better deal. You all look stunning." Nameela was wearing a deep burgundy evening dress that accented her curves. Talla had on a sleeveless white gown that was more reserved than the one Tarran was wearing, while still being complimentary to her figure. And Sato had decided on a cream coloured summer kimono with a bamboo pattern for the evening.

"So do you," Nameela smiled as she looped her arm through his proffered one. He was wearing a Vulcan style tunic and slacks in a rich russet colour.

Towards the end of dinner, Saven rolled his head on his shoulders and took a deep breath. Nameela glanced over as did Talla and Sato as he let the breath out somewhat shakily. "Are you alright Doctor?" Sato queried.

"I will be," he replied after a moment.

"I was wondering when that would kick in," Nameela said, reaching over to take his hand in hers. He gripped it tightly and she smiled sympathetically at him.

Figuring out what was happening; Talla and Sato shared a glance before Sato suggested that they head back for the guest house. "I believe that would be wise, Captain," Saven stated, grateful for her discretion.

Back at the guesthouse Saven headed for the quarters he was sharing with Nameela, who stayed behind with Talla and Sato for a moment. "You'll excuse us if we aren't at the embassy dinner tomorrow night?" she asked.

"Of course," Talla replied. "Are you going to be okay?"

Nameela smirked and waved a hand in the air. "We've got this down pat after the last time. He'll be fine in a day or two," she assured Sato and Talla. "As for me, I was kind of looking forward to it," Nameela added rubbing her hands together in anticipation.

"You better go take care of him then before he starts wrecking the place," Sato chuckled softly.

"I want to thank you both for your discretion," Nameela replied sincerely. "Like your typical Vulcan, Saven is a bit skittish on the topic of Pon Farr."

"Of course," Talla replied with a nod. Nameela waved to the duo before retiring to tend to Saven.

"At least he waited until we were planet side," Sato muttered after a moment. Talla snorted a laugh and linked her arm through Sato's.

"Come on, I have ale in my quarters," she offered.

"Oooh goody! Let's go get drunk," Sato enthused and the two laughed all the way to Talla's room.

Late the following afternoon, Sato and Talla were sitting in the gardens adjacent to the guesthouse when Nameela and Saven walked by. Nameela had a satisfied smile on her face and Saven appeared to have returned to his usual casual ease. "Feeling better?" Sato asked as the couple joined them.

"Much. Again thank you for your concern last night," Saven replied. From his tone Sato figured that the topic was done and nodded.

"You'll be joining us at the dinner tonight then?" Talla asked and Nameela grinned while Saven nodded. "That's good. I was hoping to have the whole crew compliment of species present."

"Any idea how the boys did today?" Nameela asked changing the subject.

"Karal came in second and Ian third. Apparently one of the locals had been saving his best for last," Sato replied with a smirk.

"Hey Doc, Hullo Mum," Anu teased as he joined them. The rest of the Tribal Trio was walking along with Tarran to join them in the gardens.

Nameela reached back and placed a friendly smack to Anu's backside. "I hear the locals got one up on you," she said.

"Yeah. No worries though eh," Anu shrugged.

"I told you that I thought that one was holding back," Silongo added.

"We'll come back one day," De Vaal vowed.

"To kick arse!" Anu stated suddenly.

"And take names!" De Vaal crowed.

Saven cleared his throat in an attempt to interrupt the cheering and laughter among the Tribal Trio. "What time is our shuttle arriving for the dinner?" he asked changing the subject.

"About an hour from now," Tarran answered, checking her chronometer. "Oh! I put the dress on your bed," she added to Talla.

"Thank you!" Talla clapped her hands.

"I suggest we all get ready then," Sato stated.

"You'll behave?" Nameela teased the young men as they dispersed to get ready.

"We will Mum," came four responses at once.

"That's Commander Mum to you," she laughed.

The embassy dinner had gone off perfectly. A Federation ship would be arriving in a few days from Earth to set up an embassy on Trill and fine tune the trade and Federation application negotiations Talla had made. After spending one more day on Trill, the crew returned to the _Hokkaido_ and set off to their next destination.

"I hear the Betazoids are an interesting species?" Sato suggested with a grin.

"How about someone who isn't telepathic?" Talla winced.

"Betazed it is then! Ensign Anu, set in a course," Sato laughed.

"Aye Ma'am."

"I loathe you," Talla grumbled, throwing a printout she'd been reading at Sato's back.

To Be Concluded...


	11. Epilogue

A/N: A bit weepy this, but now to find out what happened to them after Trill.

"Tobin crossed paths with the _Hokkaido_ a few months later and was both nervous and pleased that they had remembered him. From then on Dax has maintained friendships with the crew to some degree or other," Jadzia said as she finished telling Worf and Martok how Dax had first met the Denobulan Captain, Nameela.

"You still retain the memories of the ambassador and tactical officer?" Martok asked.

Jadzia nodded. "Everything they knew, up to the point they were separated from Tobin."

"Is it similar to the way you can recall your former hosts?" Worf asked.

"Pretty much. It also explains why I get along with Andorians as well as I do," Jadzia replied. "The _Hokkaido_'s mission lasted for five years and in that time they brought fourteen new worlds into the Federation," Jadzia continued. "After the mission, Nameela gave up her commission in Star Fleet to work with Saven in various science exchanges. They found three young children on a joint colony venture two decades later and adopted them. They'd been orphaned in an attack on the colony."

"Who attacked them?" Martok asked, suddenly hoping it wasn't his own people.

"The Romulans," Jadzia replied. "The children who were all about two and three at the time grew up very much loved. A Human girl and two Vulcan boys, Shelley, Kavas, and Takar. Shelley's long gone now but the boys are still alive," Jadzia paused. "I should be the one to tell them about their mother."

"Feel free to use the terminal here whenever you are ready," Martok offered.

"Thank you I will." Jadzia replied with a small smile. "Saven's death rocked them pretty hard. He was killed a little over three decades ago on a relief mission in the Alpha Centauri system." Jadzia paused to wipe a stray tear away. "Nameela was devastated. Curzon spent almost two months with her consoling her over her loss. When the Borg threat surfaced Star Fleet recommissioned Nameela as a captain. They were going to try diplomacy at first, but...you know how that went."

"Indeed," growled Worf.

"I'm ready to inform them about their mother," Jadzia stated suddenly. Martok and Worf rose up to give her some privacy. As they were leaving Martok asked Jadzia what should be done about Nameela's body. "The boys are probably going to want it so they can bury her next to their father and sister."

"We'll take care of it," Worf assured her as he and Martok left.

Jadzia took a moment to collect herself before turning on the terminal and calling a line she knew well. An older Vulcan man answered and smiled softly when he recognised her. "Hi Kavas, is Takar around by any chance?" Kavas said that Takar was outside tending to his mother's garden and went to fetch him. When both brothers were seated on the other end of the connection Jadzia spoke. "I'm calling personally to let you know that your mother died in battle...but she made sure to take as many Jem'Hadar with her as she could..."

Takar would answer two months later when Martok took it upon himself to inform the brothers of Jadzia's untimely passing. He spoke with great pride about the honour it had been for him to have known the Trill. Martok also spoke of the brief meeting he'd had with Nameela before she died and how honoured and humbled he'd been to have met her. They thanked Martok for bringing their mother home to them and telling them personally about Jadzia. Having spoken with the two, Martok got a sense of what their father Saven must have been like in life.

Ezri Dax strolled through the gardens of the Federation Headquarters in San Francisco. Things had been tense in the Gamma Quadrant since the end of the Dominion War. Species that had been crushed under the thumbs of the Founders and Dominion were beginning to call out for retribution. At least these battles would be fought in the halls of diplomacy, she sighed to herself.

"Ezri wait up," Chancellor Martok called out to the young woman.

"Hullo Chancellor, I thought I saw you back there," Ezri grinned as she waited for Martok to join her.

"The joys of leadership," Martok growled. "May I escort you somewhere?" he offered.

"I was heading to the Andorian Embassy. I have some files to drop off," she replied eagerly.

"Excellent. I have business there as well," Martok stated offering an arm to the young Trill. Ezri giggled as she took it and Martok patted her hand. "You are still a member of my house," he reminded her fondly.

"I know and I'm honoured," she replied as they walked. "How's Worf?"

"Worf is thriving on Qo'noS as is young Alexander," Martok proclaimed proudly.

"Oh I'm so glad to hear that. Jadzia would be thrilled too," Ezri smiled.

They arrived at the Andorian Embassy and were greeted by an Aenar clerk at the main desk. "Welcome to the Andorian Embassy, how may I assist you?" Ezri nodded for Martok to go first.

"I am Chancellor Martok of the Klingon Empire and I wish to speak to Ambassador Tassek Sarn about arranging peace keeping forces for the Gamma Quadrant. I was told he was the one to talk to," Martok replied in a booming voice. The young clerk nodded and turned her unseeing gaze to Ezri.

"I have files from Deep Space 9 that the Ambassador requested," she replied sweetly.

"Of course Chancellor, Miss. I know that the Ambassador is in the middle of a call to the council on Andoria at the moment but I'll have his aide come and fetch you both momentarily," the young clerk replied. "Please feel free to look around while you wait," she added.

Martok saw Ezri look across the room and become fixed on a display on the far wall. He knew that it was an interactive replica of the Wall of Heroes on Andoria. The Andorian Embassy on Qo'noS had an identical replica that he'd never paid any mind to. He had a feeling that would change as he saw an all too familiar gesture as Ezri came to stand before the display. She reached a shaky hand to her abdomen over the spot where Dax resided.

"Do you remember when we rescued the crew of the _Mayweather_ a few years ago?" Ezri asked when she heard Martok come up behind her. The Aenar clerk had also wandered over having sensed Ezri's distress.

Martok thought for a moment before recalling the rescue. "Yes, the captain was an old friend of yours. You told us how you had met her and her former crew," he replied.

Ezri reached up and touched the display. An etching in ice appeared of four men in their prime, an Andorian and three Humans. "That's the Tribal Trio," Ezri murmured. "They were on a furlough. Jassyk was going to take them ice caving."

Sensing that Ezri was choked with emotion and Martok wanted to know more, the clerk began telling the story. "That is Jassyk of Andoria and his human brothers Lwazi, Ian, and Karal. The ferry they were on to Andoria suffered a catastrophic failure. The bridge was destroyed and the engines were on the verge of meltdown," she said. "According to survivor accounts, the four of them rescued the survivors and got them safely off the ferry. They then managed to keep the ferry from crashing into Andoria by steering it away from our world. They died when the ferry exploded in space. Had it crashed on Andoria the catastrophe would have been much greater."

Martok placed a hand gently on Ezri's shoulder. Ezri meanwhile became someone else as she found her voice again. "Talla went straight to the top and demanded blood samples that Star Fleet had of all four of them. She vowed that she wouldn't leave until she had them. They had no choice but to give her what she wanted."

As Ezri spoke the young clerk sensed the change in personalities and stared directly at her, even though she couldn't see the Trill. She suspected that an old story she'd heard as a child was very much true and that the Trill involved was standing before her, speaking in the voice of the legendary diplomat of nearly two hundred years ago.

"Talla brought the samples home to Andoria and placed them in the wall herself," Ezri continued. "She commissioned the portrait as well from a photo taken a year before they died. They saved the lives of possibly millions of Andorians, and knowing them they didn't even think twice about it."

The clerk sensed another change in personality as did Martok. Martok was familiar with the sudden switches Ezri displayed on occasion, while she had gotten better at controlling the many facets of Dax, she did lapse once in a while. Ezri took on the old soul of Curzon as she continued.

"They weren't only remembered on Andoria. Schools and institutions across Australia and South Africa bear their names. I went...or rather Curzon went on a pilgrimage of sorts to four of them. The Lwazi Silongo School of Indigenous Studies in Pretoria, Karal De Vaal Memorial School in Durban South Africa, Ian Anu Memorial College in Karratha Australia, and even Jassyk School of Interspecies Studies in Sydney. There's a copy of that portrait in the main lobby of each place and the story of their sacrifice," Ezri stated.

Ezri reached up again and touched the icon next to the Tribal Trio. Martok was struck by the beauty of the Andorian woman whose portrait came up. It was a three quarter view with the woman's face turned towards the Tribal Trio. "The evil one," Ezri smiled softly. "It's appropriate that she's watching over the boys for all of eternity." The clerk had sensed another personality swap and knew that Ezri was speaking with great fondness for the heroic Andorian captain. "She gave Tobin fits," Ezri chuckled softly. "Tarran had not liked the idea that Dax had bound them like that. She did forgive Tobin though at the Caves of Mak'ala, when she learned that he'd had no control over what happened. He was so heart broken when he heard that she'd been killed in battle against a Romulan armada. He'd fallen in love with Tarran while they were stuck in the telepathic bond."

The clerk gasped when Ezri confirmed her suspicions. "You're the one, the living memorial. They truly live in you?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"They do." Ezri stated calmly, "its how Tobin was able to be happily married to his wife, Alani and still love Tarran from afar. He knew that as long as Dax lived, he could be with Tarran." Ezri paused before becoming assertive again. "Star Fleet didn't even put up a fight when Talla returned for Tarran's blood. Like she did with the boys, she returned the blood home to Andoria and placed it in the Wall of Heroes next to them."

Ambassador Tassek Sarn and his aide had been standing nearby for a while listening to Ezri reminisce. He stepped forward and Martok turned to him. "Chancellor it is an honour," he greeted. Martok bowed his head in return. Ezri turned to face the Ambassador and he swore he saw the legendary Talla and Tarran looking back at him. "You honour us with your presence Dax," he greeted humbly.

Ezri shook her head and Martok smirked. She was gaining control and faced the Ambassador again, this time as Ezri Dax. "Sorry about that. I lose it sometimes when I'm emotionally overwhelmed."

"There's no need to apologise. You knew some of our greatest legends personally," Sarn replied warmly. "It saddens me when I think that most of Ambassador Talla Shran's close colleagues never lived their lives to their natural end. I believe only Hiroko Sato did, as well as the Ambassador herself."

Ezri nodded. "Hiroko was ninety-seven and Talla a hundred and sixty three. Both of them went the same way, peacefully in their sleep." A pause and she continued. "They're all gone now, my friends. There are memorials to them all over the place, I just hadn't seen this one until now though. Thank you," she murmured softly.

The End.


End file.
